


Leftovers

by SamCyberCat



Series: Zombie Diet [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-12-03 19:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 48,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11538903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: The council have decided that Haru is to be put down, for the sake of everyone's safety. But they'll need to get past Makoto, Sousuke and Kisumi if they're going to get to Haru. So while they have their chance, Makoto and the others plan their escape from the compound, back into a Japan where so many uncertainties await them...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so when I said I was working on another story in the Trail Mix universe, I got too excited to pace myself out before I started to post it. This will be another multi-chapter story, like Trail Mix itself was. Only this time you get Makoto as the narrator. Though that doesn't at all mean that poor Sousuke's going to get a chance to rest either. Anyway, thanks again for reading and I look forward to showing you more of this world, including eventually bringing in another canon character who we haven't seen at all yet.

By now, Makoto was used to the tension between the others and Hayato being as thick as pea soup, but it wasn't just their usual tension that hung over the dinner table that night. It wasn't merely the run of the mill accusing glares and thinly-veiled insults. Something was bothering Hayato. He was too distracted to even make proper comebacks to Sousuke and mostly just nodded along. Of course Sousuke noticed that was the case as well, but he was the last person who'd go to ask Hayato about his feelings. So guess who that job was left to?

Once the meal was over, Hayato headed up to his room. He didn't make an excuse to go back to the facility, which was unusual for him. So with a silent nod to Sousuke, Makoto got up from the table and went after him.

He walked quietly. Years of living in the mountains had made him good at that. Few people hunted better than Makoto, at least if you asked Sousuke or Haru. It was a matter that Makoto was quietly proud of.

When he reached the door to Hayato's room, Makoto could hear him crying before he'd even gone in. He realised that it had been so long since he'd heard Hayato cry. Even though back when he'd been a kid, poor Hayato had been very sensitive. Heck, he still was, the sensitivity just showed itself in different ways now.

Makoto pushed the door open and walked through, to where Hayato was curled up on his bed. As soon as he saw Makoto he tried to recover, sitting up and wiping his eyes, stammering that everything was fine. But it was too late. Makoto had already seen and they both knew it.

“So what's happened?” Makoto asked, as he perched himself on the edge of the bed.

“It's nothing...” mumbled Hayato, “J-just... got worked up over... over nothing.”

“Come on, you know that's not true. It takes more than a few jabs from Sousuke to upset you,” said Makoto.

Hayato stared at him, trying to see something. Whatever it was that Hayato wanted to see from him, Makoto didn't know, but after a moment Hayato nodded and took a deep breath. He had decided to tell Makoto what was bothering him.

“I'm not sure how to break this to you... I spent all of dinner trying to figure it out, but it's just too... much,” he said, “I don't want to hurt anyone, but I don't think I can change this...”

“You'll hurt us more if you hide it,” Makoto reasoned, “Whatever it is, best to have it out in the open. We can't help unless we know.”

“You can't help at all...” muttered Hayato.

For that, he was granted a stern frown from Makoto, which he seemed to whither under. Even now, Hayato still kind of admired Makoto from when he'd been his swimming coach all those years ago. Hayato had been so young that Makoto wasn't even sure if he could properly remember it, but the admiration remained all the same.

“Try me. You'd be surprised what people can help with,” Makoto offered, his voice softer than his face had been only moments ago.

“Right... yeah, okay...” mumbled Hayato. Then he pulled himself to sit up properly and began; “After we got back from Iwatobi today, I was called away because there'd been... an incident. At a compound in Northumberland. We'd just received word from Manchester.”

“I thought this compound held all the survivors?” Makoto checked. He knew that wasn't true, not after Sousuke had talked about people living out there in Japan. But that was what Hayato seemed to have led them to believe, so be damned if Makoto wasn't going to pull him up about it.

“In Japan, yes, we are the only compound. But there's others all across the globe. The two that I mentioned are in the UK. They have a lot of them over there, because they have their shit together. Or at least that's what we thought until today...” Hayato replied.

“So what happened at that other compound?” asked Makoto, hoping the answer wasn't what he dreaded it would be.

“...Outbreak,” Hayato said, “They'd had a zombie research facility, just like we do, but something went wrong. In less than three hours, most of the compound had been infected. Because there was no way out. They... h-had to put people down before... b-before they turned. An entire compound was lost...”

A compound had failed. Specifically, a facility like the one Hayato worked in had failed.

The two of them sat in silence after that, reflecting on the ramifications of that happening. It was awful... But it wasn't just those people in that one compound who would suffer because of it. There would be a knock-on effect. When minutes passed without Hayato going any further into what that would be, Makoto knew that he had to prompt him.

“So what does that mean for us? What does that mean for Haru...?” he asked.

“...Not many facilities even do the kind of work we do at this compound,” said Hayato. And Makoto had to bite his own tongue in annoyance at not being given an answer right away. Hayato went on, “It took me a lot to convince the council that there would be any good in trying to help zombies... sorry, people like Haru. They're so few and far between, after all. And as much as we know we can trust Haru, there's so far no way to fully eliminate the risk that he migh-”

“...Hayato. Please... just give me an answer,” Makoto begged.

Hayato's eyes were shaking around a little, but he took a deep breath and complied; “...They're shutting down the zombie research. All of it. Every zombie we have is to be terminated over the next few days. I was... t-told to break the news to you all tonight...”

“What! What the actual fuck...!”

Makoto was on his feet before he'd realised it and Hayato recoiled under his wrath. Seeing that made Makoto lower his shoulders and reel himself back in. But only slightly. Haru's life was still on the line here.

“I've tried everything I could!” Hayato cried, “I begged them! I even tried to convince them just to send all of the reformed zombies back to where they found them, but they won't spend any more resources on zombies. They say it isn't worth the risk!”

“But they'll blow his head off, will they?” Makoto growled, “Great... just great! Sousuke was right that we never should have come here!”

“Makoto...” Hayato whispered.

“I'm sorry... Look, it isn't your fault,” said Makoto, though he struggled to keep his anger in-check, “You thought you could help by bringing us here. Sousuke and Haru have given you so much shit for it, but I know you've been trying your best. It's just... too late now, Hayato. We can't carry on with this.”

“So what do we do?” Hayato asked.

Honestly, Makoto had no idea. He couldn't come up with a plan for this on his own. But thankfully he didn't have to.

“You... you go back to the facility and tell them... that we'll comply,” Makoto answered.

“Are you sure?” Hayato checked. He was staring at Makoto like he couldn't believe what he was hearing and Makoto didn't blame him for that.

“Yes. Don't worry, we'll figure something out. But it won't do to have them hostile towards us at this stage. We already don't have much time left,” said Makoto.

With that prompting, Hayato got to his feet. He dried off his eyes and nodded, ready to go. In that moment he still looked so young. Hayato was still a kid, no matter how many times Makoto told Sousuke not to treat him like one. Maybe it was wrong that Hayato had to grow up so quickly, but now wasn't the time to do something about that. What they needed to do right now was get Haru to safety. Somehow...

***

As much as Makoto would have liked to have talked this through with Sousuke first, it wouldn't have been fair to tell just him. Not when it was Haru's life that was at risk. And it wouldn't be fair to tell Haru without also telling Kisumi, given how close the two of them were now. So at that stage, he might as well tell all of them. Hopefully it'd mean they could figure out a solution faster. There had to be one. Makoto wouldn't accept that there wasn't.

They were all gathered in the living room – Makoto stood in front of them, while Sousuke and his mother sat on the sofa, both watching him with the same expression of concerned dread. Haru sat on the floor next to Kisumi. Makoto watched as Kisumi's hand rubbed encouragingly against Haru's leg. They must all have some idea that this was about him.

“I'm not going to dress this up,” Makoto started, “Hayato told me that there was an outbreak at another compound and... and it's led our compound to decide that keeping zombies here isn't safe any more. Even zombies like Haru...”

“What are they going to do about it?” Sousuke growled.

Makoto had expected that reaction from him, but it wasn't Sousuke that Makoto was looking at right now. He stared down at Haru on the floor, who's face was as impossible to read as ever. Next to Haru, Kisumi had gone as white as a sheet. But Haru just nodded.

“...Iiit t-taakesss themm... m-mon-ths to de-deciiide any...thinngg elsee...” Haru said, “...D-didn't taa-aake them... loo-onng to... de-ccide th-thisss...”

“They've always wanted you to fail, this is just their excuse!” snapped Sousuke, “They know damn well that you're safe. That you're human. They can't expect us just to let them kill you!”

“And we're not going to,” Makoto cut in, “But we need to figure out how... How can we get away from them?”

He turned to look at Sousuke now. Because Sousuke was their leader, as much as he didn't want to be. And Sousuke was Makoto's rock. If anyone could figure out what to do, it'd be him. Then the others would do everything they could to follow along and get Haru to safety. They just needed to know what it was they were doing.

“They're not going to let us just walk out the door. And there's only one way out that any of us know about,” Sousuke mused. Makoto could tell that the cogs in his head were turning. After a few moments he went on; “They let me go to Iwatobi today because they were too scared to stop Hayato. He's got a lot of leverage there.”

“But also a lot of people who don't like him,” Kisumi cut in, “As much as I hate to say it. Ever since he brought Haru back and started throwing his weight around more, Hayato hasn't been as popular as he used to be. I mean, Haru told me that one guard basically set a zombie on him the day that Haru saved him. We can't count on everyone letting Hayato do whatever he wants, especially not now. Some people will be using the decision to shut down the facility as something they can rub in his face.”

“Still, some of them will listen to him though,” countered Sousuke, “There's a pilot guy. I think that Hayato and him had some kind of thing? He was the one who took us to Iwatobi. We could probably use him to our advantage.”

“...Th-that's... a-awfully m-maniiipula...tive...” Haru chuckled.

“Eh, that guy will recover,” dismissed Sousuke, “He's not the one who's going to get killed over this.”

“So we're depending on being able to sneak in and getting one helicopter pilot to give us a lift out of here?” Makoto checked.

“No, we're depending on him giving us a helicopter,” Sousuke corrected, “I'm not bringing along any more people than we need to.”

“Sousuke, you can't expect that some guy who Hayato dated once will let us steal a helicopter from him,” said Makoto.

“...He will do though,” assured Kisumi, “It's not nice to say, but that guy's been pining over Hayato for a long time. I even had to tell him to back off for his own good at one point. If Hayato asks him to help us steal a helicopter, he'll let us.”

“Okay, so even if we can get a helicopter, how do we get Haru there without someone stopping us?” Makoto asked.

“We already have our answer to that,” said Sousuke, “They'll take Haru back to the facility to terminate him, I'll bet. They're not likely to do it here. Haru's still enough of a local celebrity that people would riot if they saw a body being taken out of this house.”

“Maybe the council won't care at this point. Maybe they'll just tell people about what happened at the other compound and use that as their reasoning,” replied Makoto.

“That's the beauty of it though – they don't like people to know that there's other compounds,” Sousuke reasoned, “Whatever they do, it's going to be done with as much secrecy as possible. Which is why it'll happen at the facility, because civilians can't go there. All we need to do is plead them to let us come along with them on the day that Haru's taken away, so we can say our last goodbyes to him and so he doesn't have to be alone when they put him down.”

“What if they don't let us?” Makoto pressed, “On top of that, even if they do let us, won't Haru be so heavily guarded that there'd be no way we could slip him away? I'm sorry to play the devil's advocate, but we need to know all the answers if we want this to work.”

“No, you're right,” agreed Sousuke, “We need to be sure what we're doing. In that case, we'll have to see if Hayato can't wing it so that the guards are all people who'll listen to him. That's asking a lot though. If we can't do it that way, then we'll have to slip Haru into the facility at some other time. But I stand by that the helicopter is our only way out and we have to go for that.”

“...Letsss slee-eep on it... f-for noww...” said Haru, the one person in their group who didn't sleep, “...W-we c-c-can't... knoo-oww... what the fa-ciiility w-will do... u-until... Hayaaato t-tellsss usss...”

“You're probably right,” said Sousuke, as much as Makoto could tell that it bothered him to not have a definite plan when they had so little time on their side, “Haru, can you wait up until Hayato gets back? The rest of us will try to get some sleep for now.”

“...C-cann doo...” Haru replied.

“Do you want some company?” asked Kisumi, “I don't mind waiting up.”

“...I'd r-ratheeer... youuu of a-all peopleee... r-rested... Kisssumiii... M-make sureee... y-you're reeeady t-to go...” said Haru.

He reached a hand out and Kisumi took it, the two of them interlocking their fingers for a moment before they pulled apart again. Kisumi was smiling, even if Haru now couldn't. And Makoto was smiling at them as well. Hands had always been one of Haru's most cherished ways of showing affection, even if he was private about it. In many ways Haru and Kisumi were still figuring each other out, but Makoto liked to think that they were on the right track.

Then Makoto looked over at Sousuke, who was... watching his mother leave. Come to think of it, Noriko hadn't said a single word throughout the discussion. She'd always been the sort who only spoke up when she felt it was necessary, but it was unusual for her to say nothing at all when all of their futures were on the line.

As she walked away, Makoto noted how slow she was. Age had gotten to her, though that was to be expected. She'd never been young, even when Makoto had first met her, he'd noticed that she was much older than his own parents. But now... now she struggled to get to and from the drop-off point to pick up supplies without becoming short of breath. She'd never gone to see Haru in the facility the whole time that he'd been there. Not because she didn't care, but because the journey was too much for her.

Going back to Japan, especially if they might end up on the run from whatever the compound could send after them, it might be too much for her. And from the look in Sousuke's eyes, he'd realised that as well.

“You should go talk to her,” Makoto whispered.

“Yeah, I should...” agreed Sousuke.

He looked at Makoto and nodded in a way that was much more nervous than usual. But then he walked after her all the same. Because that was Sousuke all over. Even if he was unsure of his actions, he'd still commit to them with his whole self. Makoto admired that about him.

With that settled and none of them able to do anything more for now, Makoto headed off to their room. They'd have a lot to work for tomorrow and suddenly the future was so very uncertain. But it wasn't going to contain Haru dying at the hands of anyone from the facility. Makoto knew that much for sure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rift is formed between Sousuke and his mother as neither of them can agree what will be best for their group. Sousuke insists that no one is to be left behind, but Noriko believes that she will only make it harder for them to escape. So it's up to Makoto to mediate between them.

Although he tried to tell himself that it wasn't his business what Sousuke and his mother talked about, when so much time had gone by without Sousuke coming back to their room, Makoto couldn't stop himself from worrying. Sleep was impossible and Makoto reckoned that he wasn't the only person in the house who felt that way. Even if he hadn't been worried about Sousuke and Noriko, his concerns over Haru's fate would have kept him awake all the same.

After he'd tossed and turned so many times that he didn't even know what he was trying to achieve by doing so any more, Makoto got up from his bed and headed out into the hallway. Ahead of him he saw the gleam from a single eye shine out through the darkness, alerted to any movement in the house. It was Haru. Makoto gave him a nod to show that everything was all right and then Haru disappeared from sight again, probably back to waiting by the door for Hayato to return.

The door to Noriko's room had been left ajar and through it, Makoto could hear the low murmurs of both mother and son talking. That was what they were like. They didn't yell at each other, even when they were annoyed. The two of them mostly communicated via exchanges of looks and the occasional grunt. Any discussion they had, especially one that had gone on for so long, couldn't be good.

Maybe Makoto should leave them and just go back to the other room, but then he'd only worry. Might as well find out what they were saying, so he'd have a stronger idea of what exactly to worry about. So he pushed the door open and peered through, only to be greeted by both of them staring over at him.

“I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay...?” he offered.

“Everything is fine,” Noriko dismissed.

“Everything is not fine,” corrected Sousuke, “How could anything be fine right now?”

“I know, Sousuke. I know that what's happening is terrible, but it won't get any better if you keep adding more problems to it,” replied Noriko.

Sousuke snorted; “Mother, I'm not the one adding problems. If you just went along with me then everything would be-”

“-would be slowed down. You'd all be at risk. As I've said again and again,” Noriko cut in.

...Ohhhh boy. Makoto needed to step in here.

“Look, I'm not exactly sure what you're saying,” Makoto tried, “I can tell that this is about our plans to sneak Haru out of here, but has something else come up?”

He already had a strong suspicion of the answer, even before hearing it. But he wanted to know for sure from them before he jumped to any conclusions.

“Mother doesn't want to go with us,” Sousuke said.

“It's not that I don't want to,” said Noriko, “It's that taking me would be too much of a risk. I can't get as far as I used to. If you're trying to sneak out, then I'll only increase your risk of being caught.”

“So we'll plan for that, we'll work around it,” replied Sousuke, “I'm not leaving my mother behind.”

“And then what, Sousuke? Suppose that we do somehow get out of here, back to Japan. How am I supposed to trek across the country? How am I supposed to outrun zombies?” Noriko asked.

“We'll have a helicopter. I'm sure we'll be fine for a while. We'll just fly it back to the cottage and then everything will work out all right,” Sousuke replied.

“That's your ideal scenario, yes,” agreed Noriko. She then turned to look at Makoto again and pleaded, “Talk to him, make him see sense. Make him see that he can't put you all at risk over me.”

“No, Makoto's not going to take your side in this,” Sousuke retorted.

“Can I decide that for myself?” Makoto snapped. ...No, it wouldn't do to get snappy. His temper was already frayed due to how on edge the situation had made him, but they needed Makoto to be the voice of reason. So he took a deep breath and found his mental footing before be carried on, “...You both have good points and that's why you can't reach an agreement, because neither of you are wrong. We're a family, we don't leave anyone behind. But at the same time, we already have no idea if we'll make it out and being slowed down will make it harder. However, what we also don't know is what the compound will do if we escape. We don't know if they'll come after us and that's enough of a problem, but we also don't know what they'd do to any of us who got left behind. What if we did leave you here, Noriko, and then they arrested you or worse?”

“Then I'd accept my fate knowing that I'd given you all a head start,” Noriko answered.

“A head start into what? What's the point in running if we just lose people along the way?” replied Sousuke, “I don't want bits of our group to be chipped away until there's only one left. I want to... protect you all...”

“That is what I want as well. We're just looking at how to do that differently,” said Noriko.

“If we don't even try then we'll never know if we could have made it. I won't be able to live with myself leaving here without even trying to bring you along with us,” Sousuke protested.

“And if you get caught because of me, then Haru will be the one who dies for sure,” Noriko stated.

“We're walking into that risk anyway,” Makoto said. As that reminder came to him, so did a ray of hope; “Noriko, we might have already covered this in our original idea. The plan was that we convince them to let us come with Haru on the day they put him down. So it isn't as if we'll be sneaking into the facility if we're brought there. We'll only have to sneak around once we're already inside and the helicopter bay is right there in the yard. If Hayato manages to lie his teeth off like he usually does, then we might be able to walk up to it bold-faced and you'd be fine.”

“So many ifs in that plan...” Noriko said.

“It's all we have to go on,” replied Sousuke, “Please... I'm being honest with you, watching you walk away from the cottage that day when they came to rescue us was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do. But I did it because I believed you were going somewhere that you'd be better off. Now I know that isn't true. I can't say if you'll be safe here after we've gone and it'd tear me apart living each day knowing that I'll never be able to see you again. I'd never know if they let you live or if anyone would be there to help you get to the drop-off point to collect resources. If you were dressing warm and eating right. No one would be there for you and I just... can't...”

Sousuke broke off there. He tried not to get too emotional in front of others, but Noriko and Makoto were both people who'd already seen him at his most vulnerable, so there was nothing to hide. When he lowered his head, Noriko reached a hand towards him and put it on his back.

“...It's supposed to be a mother who looks out for her son, not the other way around,” she whispered.

“From where I'm standing, it looks like the Yamazaki family always look after each other,” Makoto said.

“You're right... You're absolutely right,” Noriko agreed. Then she sighed. As Sousuke looked up at her, she continued, “I wanted to make this easier for you, because that seemed as if it would be best, but in my haste I have hurt you. And I'm sorry for that. Stubbornness will always be my downfall.”

“Both of our downfalls...” Sousuke added. He forced a chuckle that none of them were feeling; “So will you... come with us?”

“I won't break this family apart,” said Noriko, “I will come with you as far as the cottage, because that is where I want to rest. And may I strike down anyone who tries to stop us.”

“That's more like it,” chimed Makoto.

As much as Noriko was old and frail, he personally didn't envy anyone from the facility or the council or whoever else who might try to stand in her way. Now that she'd made up her mind, there'd be no shifting her.

“Good. Now both of you get back to your room and leave me to rest,” Noriko concluded, shooing them away, “No matter what happens, we'll have a long day tomorrow.”

“Thanks mother...” Sousuke mumbled.

There was a heavy silence in the air as Makoto and Sousuke walked back out into the hallway. Haru's eye briefly gleamed from further down the hallway yet again, but thankfully it disappeared before Sousuke noticed. Makoto didn't think that Sousuke would appreciate more people listening in, even if they both knew that nothing got past Haru.

They walked together back through to their own room and Sousuke finally climbed into bed, though as he joined him, Makoto knew that neither of them would be getting much sleep.

“Do you think she'll really come...?” Makoto quietly asked.

“She sticks to her word, yeah,” replied Sousuke, “But she's not wrong that our plan is flimsy. So much of it relies on luck. If they drag Haru out of here without us, then any delicate operation of sneaking into the facility as a group goes out the window.”

“So then you just pull out your axe and hack at them until they stop,” Makoto joked.

“Doubt I can take down every guard in this damn compound with a single axe, though I would give it my best shot,” Sousuke hummed. They both turned to look at their old weapons, the axe and the shotgun, which were propped up together in the corner of the room; “...We're probably not going to be able to sneak those out with us, even if the plan does go well. None of the guards will be that stupid.”

“We'll just have to find other weapons once we get back to Japan. Do you think that'll be possible?” Makoto replied.

“The guy I saw in Iwatobi today had a handgun,” Sousuke answered, “People are living out there. They'll have found ways to survive. We did.”

“We still will do,” Makoto assured.

He snuggled up against Sousuke's side, wanting him to relax as best he can. Despite that seeming to be impossible in their situation. Sousuke tensed for a moment, but then put his arm around Makoto and pulled him close. Sousuke needed physical contact for reassurance, much more than Makoto did, if he was honest. But he would be there for Sousuke. That was where they both wanted him to be right now. So they stayed together and held each other until morning, even if they didn't sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the day when they'll take Haru away and murder him. Two old friends of Hayato have come to help with that and all Makoto can do is follow along, hoping that Hayato's plan to save him will work.

Makoto had given up counting the amount of people in the armoured van who looked like they needed to vomit. It wasn't just their group either, at the front of the van Makoto could tell that the man in the passenger seat was sickly pale with worry. Not the driver though, he was as confident as ever. He had a mission and that mission was to deliver Haru to the facility, where he'd be put down.

Even now, Makoto couldn't tell for sure whether this had gone according to Hayato's plan or not. But from the way Hayato was sat in the back with them, fidgeting nervously, he didn't think that it had. Kisumi sat next to him, also fidgeting, while Haru watched them both. It was almost comical how many similar habits the Shigino brothers had, despite being so different, or at least it would be in any other situation.

They'd been granted permission to go with Haru, to see this through to the end with him. Which was more than any of the other families had, from what Hayato told them. Makoto felt so much sorrow for the others in their situation. Even if Haru was successfully smuggled out, there'd be families who definitely would lose their loved ones through this. But there was nothing that they could do for those families now. They weren't even sure that there was anything they could do for themselves.

It would've been nice to say that the first part of their plan had been a success, especially when only two guards came to collect them from the house. That surprised them greatly, but then Makoto remembered that the council didn't want to make too much noise about what they were doing to Haru. If people saw two guards escorting him into a van, then it'd seem a lot less of a big deal than if dozens of guards turned up. Plus, the council knew that Haru wouldn't attack the guards anyway... That was the worst part, they damn well knew that Haru was safe and yet they were doing this anyway.

So two guards had shown up, but one of them... definitely wasn't someone who Hayato had convinced to help them. Not from the way Hayato's face fell upon sight of him. As they were loaded into the van, Makoto leaned over to Haru to ask him about it and learned that this was the guard who'd pushed that zombie towards Hayato in the yard that day. It seemed that the guard had been reprimanded for his actions, although those actions slipped through the cracks as “a mistake”, given that Haru was the only witness and the council didn't approach him for testimony. But the guard had still lost face due to how strongly the public had reacted in favour of Haru. Makoto could tell that the guard had a chip on his shoulder and making sure that Haru wouldn't get away was his act of vengeance against him.

Which was what led Makoto to believe that the plan hadn't worked out and he wasn't the only one who felt that way. The van was entirely silent, save for the annoying whistling of the guard driving it, who was already writing this off as being won. Sousuke's frown seemed to get deeper and deeper with every few moments. Makoto couldn't be sure that he wouldn't just punch that guard as soon as they were out of the van again. He put a shaky hand on top of Sousuke's, but neither of them could accept the comfort right now.

When the van pulled into the yard, all they could do was wait to be escorted out of it and through to the building. There wasn't an audience for them, not even in the facility. Only the guards on the gate. People just wanted to pretend this wasn't happening. To wash their hands of it. With the exception of their escort guard, who swaggered across the yard, gun held to Haru's back as he went. Makoto noted with mild irritation that the guard wasn't even holding his gun correctly. Amateur.

“Bet you wish you were out there today,” the guard goaded. He elbowed the second guard who'd come with them in the ribs and then motioned towards the docking bay; “Don't think that I don't know why you of all people requested to do this job, but I'll keep an eye on all of you if I have to.”

The second man didn't reply. He looked as if he didn't trust himself to speak. Now that Makoto got a better look at him, he realised that he was the pilot who Hayato had some history with and who had ended up being a vital part of their plan to get out of here. It seemed as if Hayato hadn't had any trouble convincing him to help them after all, but now someone else had stepped in to stop them. Had they been that obvious?

“Where are we going?” Sousuke spoke up, loud and clear.

“Why should I tell you?” the guard snorted.

“He's our family and this is the last day we have with him,” Sousuke replied, “We deserve to know how that's going to go down.”

“Very well then, since I'm generous,” said the guard, “You're being taken to a holding cell, one that your zombie friend might remember from when he had his first freak out at the facility. There he'll be restrained and then you all get the honour of watching while I put him out of his misery.”

“...I'm n-nottt iiinn... any mi-iiisery... I'm accctually h-h-having... a g-great tiiimeee...” said Haru. The sarcasm was apparent.

“Quiet, you! Zombies don't have the right to talk any more, not even ones like you!” snapped the guard.

“He's a person!” Kisumi shot back.

“Not according to the council,” said the guard.

“...Wee-ell... I s-suppossseee they... h-have fiiirsthannnd ex-exper...ience w-withhh being m-monstersss...” replied Haru.

“That sounds like treason,” the guard retorted.

“You're killing him anyway, so why would it matter if it does?” replied Sousuke.

He didn't get a response to that. The guard was clearly someone who hated losing arguments and was unable to take what he dished out. His response was just to jab Haru in the back with his gun a few more times as they walked, hurrying them along faster. Noriko kept their group walking at a slow pace anyway, but Makoto reckoned she was slowing them down even more so just to annoy the guard further.

Even so, they couldn't put off the inevitable forever. As they got inside of the building and further away from the docking bay, Makoto felt his heart sink. They had failed. They were being led somewhere that Haru wouldn't get out of.

“No one around today,” Hayato observed, as they walked. It was hard to read his tone, but it did draw Makoto's attention to the fact that the desks were suspiciously empty. It was only the authorisation codes on the doors that acted as security.

“Everyone's too ashamed to deal with this and embarrassed to be around you,” said the guard, “Whatever authority you have here won't last much longer, Dr. Shigino. As soon as this facility is shut down, you'll be just like everybody else.”

“And so will you,” Hayato muttered.

“Are they... clearing people out?” Makoto asked. He couldn't stop himself from glancing in the rooms they went past and there was definitely evidence of equipment being dismantled and packed away.

“Have been since the decision came through,” informed Hayato, “They disposed of the zombies we were using to experiment on almost entirely in the same day, so it's just staff here now and hardly any need for them. The reformed zombies are the last ones to go, then we're done.”

“This building is huge though. I can't imagine it empty,” said Kisumi.

“Hopefully it'll be used for something else,” Hayato replied, “But if it will be, then I've not heard about it yet.”

“Probably because you're not as important as you think you are,” the guard cut in, “Now if you're all finished sightseeing, we've arrived at our stop.”

Makoto didn't know one part of the facility from the next, at least not outside of the entrance and the visitors booth that they used to visit Haru in, but he could tell from the way that Haru recoiled ever so slightly that he'd been here before. They were escorted into a room that was actually quite large, but designed with the intent of restraining zombies so that researchers could... do whatever it was that they did to zombies from a safe distance.

The guard led Haru over to one of the beds (or at least that was the only word Makoto could think to describe them as and he used the term loosely), before he patted on it to motion for Haru to climb up. Behind them, Makoto heard the door click closed, probably by the pilot.

“I'm not taking any chances. I'm going to strap you in here myself and do the job,” said the guard, “No one else wanted to do this. People here like you, for some reason. But not me. I'm a man who knows how to do what needs to be done, even when no one else will.”

“...G-good forrr y-y-youuu...” replied Haru.

He sounded completely indifferent, which wasn't the reaction that the guard wanted and only irritated him further.

“Get over here and help me tie him down!” he roared to the pilot.

With that, he turned back towards Haru and turned his back on everyone. All the people in this room who weren't on his side. It took Makoto seeing the smirk on Hayato's face to realise what was happening and then he felt a fool for not figuring it out sooner. But more than anything, he felt relief. The pilot did walk over, but it wasn't Haru he pressed his gun up against.

“Have they tested this stuff on people?” the pilot asked, as the guard froze in his tracks.

“What do you think you're-”

“-I mean they've probably tested it?” Hayato replied, ignoring the guard's outburst. The question mark in his statement was as clear as day, “It puts a zombie out for the count in seconds, so I'll bet it'll have a similar effect.”

“This is treason! You'll never get outta here!” cried the guard.

He gripped at his own gun, but Sousuke was faster. He all but dived on the guard and wrestled it out of his possession, leaving him helpless and vulnerable, surrounded by people who were desperate to escape.

“I kind of think we will get out of here though,” hummed Hayato, “I mean... it's not like there's anyone around, the whole compound is trying to pretend this isn't happening and by the time they stop turning a blind eye, we'll be long gone. I wonder who'll get the blame for that.”

“He will!” cried the guard, waving his arm in the direction of the pilot, “You'll leave your fuckbuddy to suffer for your escape and you won't even care!”

Hayato shook his head; “Do you seriously think anyone will believe that he did this over you? You're the one who's been suspended twice and he's the one with the reputation for being the biggest drip in this facility.”

“Thanks...” mumbled the pilot.

“All the more reason why they'll think he helped you! That you persuaded him to!” the guard yelled.

“All right, maybe. But that's kind of our problem, not yours,” said Hayato. Then he leaned in close to the guard, who didn't dare move out of fear over the gun held up to his back and Sousuke right next to him, ready to dislocate anything that needed dislocated should the guard make a wrong move. Hayato's grin was wolfish as he went on, “...You tried to kill me that day and I don't take lightly to that. As soon as I heard you were going to be the one bringing us in today I couldn't have been happier, because there's no one I want to see go down more than you. I hope you suffer for this and that no one believes a word that comes out of your mouth ever again. That you can scream from the rooftops that this was a setup, but it'll never change the fact that in the end, I got one over you and you're done.”

Then he stepped back and nodded to the pilot. A shot was fired. The guard opened his mouth to protest, but all the came out was a strangled scream that echoed throughout the room, before cracking off into an even louder silence. Hayato never stopped smiling the whole time. Makoto was... going to have to have words with him about this later.

“We need to move, this place won't be empty forever,” Hayato said.

No one needed to be told twice. Haru climbed down from the bed and Sousuke hoisted the limp body of the guard up onto it instead, strapping him down. Just to be safe. Then they all headed for the door, Kisumi helping Noriko to make sure she got out first.

Instinctively, Makoto did a headcount as soon as he got to there and noticed that Hayato wasn't with them. Nor was the pilot. They were both still standing at the other end of the room in an awkward silence. Which was probably due to the fact that Hayato was now the one holding the gun.

“I have to make this look convincing...” Hayato mumbled.

“I know,” assured the pilot.

“Don't worry, it'll only knock you out. I was bluffing before when I said I wasn't sure what effect it has on people,” said Hayato.

“When are you not bluffing?” asked the pilot.

“Hah... well, right now, I guess. But only right now. The rest of the time I'm bluffing,” Hayato laughed, it sounded so strained that Makoto couldn't help feeling bad for him, “...Anyway, when you wake up, just tell them that I knocked you both out as soon as we got in here. And I hope... it goes okay for you.”

“Thanks. I hope it goes all right for you as well. Your flying is pretty terrible,” said the pilot.

“They don't need to know that,” dismissed Hayato. He held the gun up towards the pilot, “...So this is it then.”

“Yeah... Yeah, this is it,” agreed the pilot, “Look, before you go, I want you to know that I've always lo-”

“...Don't. Daichi, just don't,” warned Hayato.

The pilot sighed; “All right, but... you know it's true.”

“I know. And I'm sorry.”

With that, the pilot lowered himself down to the floor, to make it easier on himself for the fall. There was a moment of hesitation in which they looked at each other. Makoto very nearly called over to say that they could just take him with them, but before he could, the shot was fired and then the pilot was out for the count.

Hayato turned to head out of the room and blinked in surprise to see Makoto, but then pushed past him.

“Let's go,” he grunted.

There was so much that Makoto wanted to say, but now wasn't the time for comfort, so the two of them hurried to the end of the corridor, where the others were waiting. Hayato swiped his card to get them through the door and then through several other doors. They didn't meet a single soul. Makoto couldn't believe how lucky they'd gotten, but he worried that if he stopped to think about it for too long that it'd break the spell, so he just kept going.

They made it out of the building and through to the docking bay. Now they were spotted. The guards on the gate couldn't ignore them.

Sousuke picked up his mother and carried her, despite her being about as tall as he is, as they all pelted towards the helicopters. Hayato waved towards one and they all ran for it. The guards yelled behind them, but they were too far away. Not too far for the guns though. Several shots only just missed them as they scrambled on board.

Even before they'd pulled the door shut, Hayato dived into the front and started it up. There was no time for argument. They had to move.

“Do you even know how to fly this thing?” Sousuke demanded.

“Sure,” Hayato lied.

That had to be good enough for now. The helicopter got up off the ground, with a circle of guards below them getting smaller, but they had to move. If word got ahead, then the exit would be closed and they'd have no way to escape.

All Makoto could do was stay silent and pray. He sat with Noriko, holding onto her tightly while Kisumi and Haru did the same on the other side. Only Sousuke stayed up front with Hayato, staring out the window as if his glare alone could make a difference.

The helicopter's movements were erratic, but Hayato made it work. It was so loud. The blades made so much noise that they were all Makoto could focus on. They waited and waited... Below them passed the facility and then the long tunnel that led them up and away from the compound. Away from the prison that had held them for too long.

“It's open!” Hayato cried, “They haven't had time to close it yet!”

Makoto looked up, only seeing that this was true after the fact. The helicopter pushed on through the exit and out into the light. Actual, real sunlight. Makoto had been underground for so long that he never thought he'd see it again. He could only imagine how Kisumi and Noriko felt, since it had been much longer for them. They blinked into it in stunned silence. Noriko got up from where she'd been huddled against Makoto to head to the front and look out onto the ocean beneath them.

“We've made it out...” she whispered.

“Yeah,” said Sousuke, “And the next stop is home.”

For the first time, Makoto let himself properly believe that they'd done it. They were going home and heaven help anyone who might stand in their way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're well on their way to freedom now. But as the helicopter passes over Iwatobi, they come across a couple of survivors under attack and need to decide if it's worth the risk to help them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so the canon character who makes their first appearance in this chapter isn't the one who I teased at the start of the fic. This one is just a cameo, I'm afraid. But I hope you'll all be glad to see who's coming along in a few chapters.

They'd been flying over the ocean for some time before Hayato announced that they'd be seeing Iwatobi soon. Although they had no reason to stop there, especially not with it seeming to be held by the compound, it was once Makoto and Haru's home. Not acknowledging it would seem wrong.

The flight had been... janky, to say the least, but Hayato was capable enough to get them from A to B and that was what mattered. There'd been a couple of times when Sousuke had implied that he wanted to take over, but fortunately Noriko had shot him down both times. Makoto loved Sousuke with all his heart, but he didn't think that mid-flight while they were over the ocean was the right time or place for Sousuke to start learning how to fly a helicopter from scratch. If only they'd brought that pilot guy with them... But as Makoto looked at the back of Hayato's head, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring that up right now.

“It's coming into sight now, if you want to come look,” Hayato called back.

Makoto got to his feet and headed forward. There wasn't loads of space up front, so Haru stayed where he was sat for now. After Makoto had gotten a decent look at the town, he'd let Haru take over from him.

But before that, something else caught his eye, a speck that appeared to be off shore from the town. It was closer to them than Iwatobi itself was.

“Is that a boat?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah, probably,” replied Hayato, “You see some of the survivors out fishing sometimes, but only the braver ones. Iwatobi is a popular spot, because the zombies there are dulled by the shit that the facility pumps into the air.”

“What do you mean by that?” said Makoto, still looking at the speck that was apparently a boat. Something seemed off about it, but they were still too far away to get a good look right now.

Hayato waved his hand about, trying to come up with an explanation that he thought the others would understand; “It's experimental. We have a few towns that we try different things on to see how it effects the zombies. For Iwatobi we- ...sorry, _they_ emit this high frequency noise through the air. It's too high for people to hear, but it seems to slow the zombies' reaction times down, from what we've been able to observe.”

“Then how come Haru isn't affected right now?” Kisumi asked, from where the two of them were sat in the back.

Makoto looked over his shoulder at Haru and, sure enough, he looked no different to usual.

“I... don't know,” admitted Hayato, “Maybe we're not close enough yet. Do you feel any strange effects, Haru?”

“...Nooo... I'm r-riighttt as raa-ainn...” Haru said, “...Exc-ceept foor the... z-zombiiies we're... ge-ettingg closssee tooo... s-settiiing me offff...”

“Yeah, the Iwatobi zombies will have more of an effect on you than others, since as they're from your home turf. But don't worry, we'll just be passing over,” Hayato assured him.

With that settled, Makoto looked back out the window and towards the boat. They were closer now and Makoto could make out that some of the shapes were definitely off. It seemed that there were three figures on the boat itself, but it was surrounded on all sides by other shapes, some of which seemed to be trying to pull themselves onto the boat. As Makoto watched, the tallest figure on the boat raised what must be an oar up into the air and then whacked it down against one of the shapes on the side of the boat, knocking it off.

Makoto instantly knew what was happening.

“Hey, the people on that boat are being attacked!” he called.

“That's impossible, the zombies here wouldn't bother going this far out to sea,” Hayato dismissed. But as he looked over at where Makoto was looking, he could see that this was exactly what was happening; “How in the...? I guess the facility must have shut off the frequency. All the zombies in Iwatobi are probably coming out of hibernation right now. Sucks to be the guys on that boat.”

“We're going to help them!” Makoto snapped.

“You sure you want to do that? Not to be insensitive, but I can barely fly this thing in a straight line as it is, let alone circle it around to get some people on board. And besides, whoever's down there could be anyone. Not all the people who live out here are friendly,” Hayato replied.

“We're not letting someone die on our watch,” retorted Makoto.

“They might already be dead. If there's zombies boarding their boat then who's to say that they haven't been infected?” Hayato replied.

“Take us down,” boomed Sousuke. And that was final.

Despite all his reservations, Hayato brought the helicopter closer to the boat and began to circle around, getting lower each time. They could get a better look at the figures now. The huge man who'd beaten off a zombie with an oar looked up towards the sound of the helicopter as if he couldn't believe it was there. But there were still so many zombies trying to get to him that he had to return his focus to beating them away in the next moment. At the other end of the boat was a sight that confirmed Makoto's fears – they were too late to help one of the people there. He'd been pinned down by a zombie who was currently feasting on his shoulder. A small zombie with blonde hair...

“Nagisa...!”

Makoto felt as if the blood had suddenly left his body. He'd spent all these years trying to block out what had happened to his friends, because he knew that there was no way to help them now. But here was Nagisa, years of infection and decay having taken over his system, and he was turning an innocent bystander into a zombie like him, through no choice of his own.

The taller man was trying to fight his way towards his companion, but it was too late. There weren't even any signs of a struggle from Nagisa's victim, so he was either already dead or already converted. It usually took a few hours to turn, but some people didn't get that lucky. Or maybe that unlucky, depending on how you looked at it.

Sousuke had joined them up front to look out of the window, even though it was a squash. He took in the sight below them and nodded.

“That's the same guy I saw last time,” he said, “The other one must be his friend.”

With that, he rushed back towards the door, about to pull it open.

“What about Haru?” Hayato called.

“...J-juuusst... restraa-aain me...” Haru said, “...I caaan alreeadyyy... f-feel it t-takiiing hold...”

Kisumi took hold of Haru's arm, but it wouldn't be enough. They needed more strength than that. Noriko started searching around for some rope, but they just didn't have the time.

“Sousuke, you'll have to hold Haru back,” Makoto decided, “You're the strongest one here. I'll go out and grab that guy.”

It was against Sousuke's better judgement to put Makoto at risk and that much was apparent from his face, but he also knew that it was their only option, so he nodded.

With that settled, Makoto pulled open the door. Cold air blasted into the helicopter and the sound of the whirring blades became more deafening than ever, but he blinked it back and shoved his head out, gripping onto the floor to keep himself steady. They were so closer now that the water was disrupted beneath the helicopter, getting knocked out in a way that sprayed up into Makoto's face. Several of the zombies were dislodged from the boat, which rocked around under the vibrations from the helicopter and threatened to tip over.

The guy on the board, the one who to their knowledge hadn't been infected yet, looked up at Makoto with a fearful expression. He'd just had to watch his companion get eaten by a zombie and he'd probably written himself off as dead before the helicopter appeared. But he'd gotten a second chance out of nowhere, so that had to be what mattered.

“Grab on!” Makoto yelled.

He held out an arm and the guy grabbed onto it, but he was built muscular, so one arm alone wouldn't be enough. Behind him, Makoto felt two people grabbing on to him to hold him steady, so he was able to reach out a second arm. With that, he just managed to pull the guy up long enough for him to get a foothold. Then the guy hoisted himself onto the helicopter and the four of them fell into a pile. Makoto was now able to see that it was Kisumi and Noriko who had grabbed him.

Down below, all the commotion had caught Nagisa's attention. He looked up from his victim, who now sat up along side him. For the brief moment that Makoto saw the other guy, it was clear that he'd already been converted. His eyes were glazed and his expression was slack. Yet it was Nagisa's eyes that held Makoto's attention. They'd always been so bold and striking, which remained true, even now that they had no further focus than finding flesh to consume. Makoto stared down into them for what felt like forever, even if it was only a few seconds. Nagisa began to move towards the helicopter. But in the next second, Hayato pulled them up so fast that they were all knocked back. Except for Sousuke, who gripped his feet steady and held Haru in place. Haru who was thrashing around, unable to control himself...

“Someone close the door! I'm getting us away from here as fast as possible!” Hayato yelled.

Makoto pulled himself up from the pile and heaved the door shut. The sound of the blades then didn't feel so close and everyone had a chance to recover, even if no one could quite believe what had happened.

The guy they'd just rescued sat up and looked around. He looked towards Makoto, then at Noriko and finally to Kisumi. When he saw Kisumi, his mouth fell open.

“...Holy shit, 'sumi... That guy... Yamazaki, he said you were alive, but I didn't expect to... to see you again,” he gaped.

“Hah... Yeah, well, surprise?” Kisumi offered, “It's kind of a long story, but I'll fill you in later, Chiyo. Was that... um, was that Hibiki down there?”

The guy known as Chiyo nodded and looked away. It must have been a bizarre position to be in, having one friend killed in front of you, only to have another who you hadn't been certain was still alive suddenly jump out to help save you. Makoto didn't envy him. He wouldn't know how to react in that situation either.

“Yeah, that was him...” Chiyo replied, “We'd been out fishing. We've done it hundreds of times, but this time... when we got close to the shore, suddenly the zombies came for us. That's never happened before...”

“You can blame the facility for that,” Hayato called from up front.

“I blame them for most things,” Chiyo grunted, “But... to lose him so suddenly. We'd been doing fine for years and then just like that...”

“Isn't that always how it goes?” Sousuke spoke up, from where he sat holding onto Haru, who was now starting to settle, “At least we got you away from the zombies. It's harsh, but you were the one who said to me that it's not them any more. As soon as they're bitten, it's too late.”

But Chiyo wasn't listening to Sousuke as much as he was staring wide-eyed at Haru. Yeah... that part was going to take some explaining.

“Is that...?” Chiyo asked.

“...A-a-aaa... z-zoom....biiieeee...” confirmed Haru, his voice rattling even more than usual as he struggled to get his sense of self back, “...Niiiiicc-eee... n-niiice t-to mee-eet... y-youuu...”

“Haru's another long story,” Kisumi said, putting a reassuring hand on Chiyo's arm, “But I promise you can trust him. I trust him with my life. So if you can believe me for now that he's safe, then I'd appreciate it.”

“Well, I've never seen a zombie who can talk before, so I'll take your word that there's something special about him,” said Chiyo, “Nice to meet you too... Haru?”

He held out a hesitant hand and Haru took it. Shaking hands wasn't usually Haru's style, but Makoto could tell that he was putting the effort in to let this newcomer know that he was safe. They shook and Chiyo nodded to Haru, then the two of them let go.

That was when Hayato called from the front.

“Hey so... not to ruin the moment, but where exactly are we going? I got us away from Iwatobi as fast as I could, but I don't have a clear direction now,” he said.

“We're still heading for the cottage, that's our main goal right now,” Sousuke answered. But then he looked at Chiyo and added, “Is there anywhere we can take you?”

“My home isn't too far out from Iwatobi, so I'd appreciate it if you could take me there,” said Chiyo, “You could land easily enough in the field nearby.”

“We can't just leave you though... Not without Hibiki...” mumbled Kisumi.

“You're welcome to come with us,” Makoto said. He hadn't checked that through with any of the others, but he knew that he couldn't leave someone to fend for themselves after just watching a friend die.

“Is he infected?” Hayato asked.

“...N-noo... I'd b-be aaable... too te-eell...” said Haru.

“I'll... I'll think about it,” Chiyo said, “Thanks, though. I'm honestly not sure what I'll do now that Hibiki's not here... Either way, I'd like to stop back home to pick up some things. Then if it's okay, there's a trade post a bit further out that I get supplies from. It might be a good idea for you guys to stock up there as well.”

“Do they have weapons?” Sousuke checked.

“Depends on what's been brought in at the time, but they usually do,” answered Chiyo, “I get most of the ammo for my handgun there.”

“Then we're definitely going,” Sousuke confirmed, “Will we be able to land there?”

“It's out in a forest, so I doubt it. But I'm sure we can get close enough,” Chiyo replied.

“Well, just point me in the right direction and we'll head off,” said Hayato.

With that, Chiyo climbed up front to give Hayato directions. Noriko got up and dusted herself off, before taking a seat on the side again, next to Sousuke and Haru. Makoto could see Sousuke watching him with concern, so he nodded to let Sousuke know that he was okay. Even if Makoto knew that he was going to have Nagisa's hungry, infected eyes stuck in the back of his head for some time...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group agrees to stay at Chiyo's barn for the night before they set out for the trade post tomorrow. Though perhaps they get comfortable a little too soon, as the facility wants at least one of them back.

The field they landed the helicopter in wasn't intended for that purpose, but they had to make do. To be fair, it looked as if the field hadn't been used for much of anything in a while and neither did any of the others nearby.

“Some people do try farming,” Chiyo said, when Kisumi asked about it, “But it's generally not worth the risk. It's a lot of effort to put in for something that can be raided so easily.”

“You make it sound like raiding is common. We never came across anything like that at the cottage,” said Makoto.

“I'm guessing you guys were too far out,” replied Chiyo, “Most of us do stay near enough to towns and cities, even if it isn't safe to live in them. Anyway, this is my home, so feel free to rest for a while.”

With that, Chiyo turned to unlock the door to a large barn that sat at one edge of the field, closest to the forest behind it. The barn clearly hadn't originally belonged to Chiyo or his friend, but then neither had the cottage that Makoto's group had lived in. You made do with what you found.

Once they were all inside, Chiyo put a bar over the door to lock it again. He probably needed extra safety precautions, if bandits were as plentiful as he claimed. The barn itself had been made as homely as it could over the years that it had been lived in. There were two straw beds on opposite sides of it and each half of the barn looked almost like a room for the person who occupied it. On the wall in the middle, an array of photos were pinned up.

“How did you get all of this stuff? I recognise some of it from your old apartment,” Kisumi said.

“Sano's kind of quiet as far as zombies go, so we went back a few times to pick stuff up,” answered Chiyo, “Help yourselves to any of Hibiki's belongings that you might want, like the clothes. Maybe this sounds harsh, but he doesn't need them now and I'm sure he'd rather that they went to good use.”

It was a nice offer, but from what Makoto had seen of Hibiki, his clothes wouldn't be much good to Sousuke or himself. They'd probably fit Kisumi and Hayato though, who were both slender. And Haru was well, but Makoto doubted he'd be interested. In fact, when he looked around for Haru, he saw that Haru had made his way over to the photos. Maybe that was intrusive, but Chiyo didn't seem to mind.

“...Kissuumii... y-you'ree on... so-oome of th-theeese...” Haru said.

“What, really?” Kisumi asked.

He went over to check and at that point Makoto's curiosity got the better of him as well. The photos all showed Chiyo or Hibiki, sometimes together, sometimes not. There were a lot of people that Makoto didn't know on them too, but many of the photos did include Kisumi and some even showed the older Mikoshiba brother, who was grinning cheerfully each time he appeared. It seemed so bizarre to get this look into a life before the outbreak. Many of these photos looked as if they were from different clubs and parties, with Kisumi seeming to be in his element. Kisumi always did better when surrounded by people. That was why living in the mountains had hit him so hard the first time...

“We wanted to have something to help us remember what it was like. Sometimes you can kind of forget that you're human,” said Chiyo, coming over to join them.

“I remember this!” Kisumi gasped, as he pointed to one of the photos. His eyes were bright; “That was from when we all got so drunk that we stole the mascot from outside that restaurant. I still feel bad about that! Doubt they want him back now though. Oh, Haru! Look at this one! You guys knew Mikoshiba, right?”

After that, Kisumi went on to explain the photos that he appeared on. Something that Makoto did notice was that on a bunch of them, Kisumi and Chiyo seemed to be close. Their arms were often around each other and they appeared to be at home in one another's presence. Makoto looked at Haru, wondering how he was taking that. He'd have to ask him later, but it felt rude to do so in the presence of Kisumi and Chiyo.

Now that he was disconnected from Kisumi's talk about the photos, Makoto looked around to find Sousuke, who was sitting with his mother on a bale of hay. Noriko seemed worn out, even if it hadn't been a long walk from the helicopter to the barn. But then Makoto supposed that she had helped pull Chiyo and himself onto the helicopter before, which probably took a lot out of her.

He went over to sit with them.

“How are you?” he asked Noriko.

“I'll be fine,” she stubbornly insisted, “We were just saying that it might be a good idea to stay here for the night, so we can all rest.”

Sousuke nodded along with her. Though Makoto suspected that the decision was made more specifically so that Noriko could rest more than anyone else. Not that Makoto had any objections to that.

“Sounds like a plan,” Makoto agreed, “Tomorrow we can head out to that trade post to stock up on supplies. Then we'll be off to the cottage again and home sweet home. Though from what Chiyo was saying before, it sounds as if we'll have to walk through the forest to get to the trade post. Are you going to be up to that? You could always wait here if you're not.”

“If I wait here then someone else will have to stay with me and I'm not having that. We're better as a group,” Noriko said.

“If you're sure,” replied Makoto. Then he lowered his voice and asked, “Hey... I hate to say it, but do you guys... trust Chiyo?”

“Only as far as he trusts us,” Sousuke replied, without missing a beat, “That's just the way it goes out here, I imagine. On that day I went to Iwatobi he was happy to walk with me for a while, but when I stayed to talk to Rin, he left. Can't say I blame him. Being kind to strangers is one thing, but there's no point risking yourself over it. He said that he had his friend to protect, but I guess he doesn't now.”

“He might have another friend to protect though...” Makoto mumbled, with a pointed glance to where Chiyo, Kisumi and Haru were looking over the photos.

“They know each other, yeah,” Sousuke agreed, “I used to see them hanging around in Sano a lot, though I didn't know all of Kisumi's friends very well. There were a lot of them.”

“Was there ever anything going on between them?” asked Makoto.

Sousuke snorted; “You'd have to ask them about that. Why, are you worried?”

“I don't want to be, but... Haru cares about Kisumi a lot,” said Makoto.

“And Kisumi cares about Haru a lot as well,” reasoned Sousuke, “You've got nothing to worry about. Just look at them, Kisumi seems to want Haru to know about this part of his past.”

“You're probably right... I should just relax,” Makoto agreed.

He looked back over to where the three of them were. Kisumi had a hand on Haru's back and was animately explaining something to him while Haru listened. No, Makoto didn't doubt the feelings that those two had for each other. It was Chiyo who was the unknown factor.

Makoto glanced away, looking over to where Hayato was going through Hibiki's clothes, holding items up in turn to examine them critically. Now that Makoto thought about it, he'd rarely seen Hayato out of his work uniform. Even right now, he'd dressed in his usual lab coat from when they'd taken Haru into the facility earlier today. His whole life was being a researcher. But it wouldn't be from now on...

“I should go talk to him,” Makoto said quietly.

“You're a good person,” Noriko commented.

“I try...”

With that, Makoto got to his feet and walked over to Hayato, who looked up from a t-shirt he was holding.

“This guy's style isn't my preference, but I guess it'll have to do,” Hayato said, “Everything he owns seems to have some kind of nerdy slogan on it. And I found a pile of old Gameboys in a box over there. He was obviously stealing them from houses and playing them until the batteries ran out. Can you imagine that?”

“People struggled to adjust after the outbreak,” replied Makoto. Even if he had to admit that he could think of better uses for batteries than a few hours entertainment. But who was he to judge?

“I can't even imagine it, you know?” Hayato said, “Life before the outbreak. I remember living up on the mountain and... maybe bits and pieces from before it happened. You taught me how to swim and Kisumi always looked after me. I remember that much. But for me, my life has always been this.”

“Well, your life was more the compound than this. You're going to find it different out here,” Makoto said.

“I'm ready for it,” assured Hayato.

He didn't say it, but Makoto wasn't sure that Hayato was.

After that, everyone began to get settled for the night. The decision to stay until morning was greeted with unanimous approval, as everyone felt exhausted by their long day. Chiyo still didn't give a clear answer about if he'd stay with them permanently or not, but he at least agreed that he'd take them to the trade post and back, which was what mattered for the moment.

Even if there were only two beds in the barn, there was enough hay for everyone to get comfortable. Makoto quickly learned that hay wasn't his first choice to sleep on, but as he pulled some out from where it was prodding his back for what must have been the fourth time, he told himself that it was only for one night. Besides, he was settled down next to Sousuke and that was all the comfort that he needed. Before long, Makoto felt himself drifting off to sleep...

***

...Thumping...

...There was... thumping...?

He could ignore it. Makoto rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, telling himself that he was probably imagining it anyway. But the noise didn't stop and soon enough it was joined by an unknown voice.

Someone was here.

Makoto's eyes shot open and he almost spoke, but then Sousuke's hand clasped over his mouth, to keep him silent. Everyone in the barn seemed to be awake now and they were all staring towards the door. There was a light outside. It could just be made out between the cracks in the wood.

“Open up! I'm from the facility!”

Chiyo headed towards the door, but he didn't open it.

“I don't take orders from you guys. Why are you bothering me at this time of night?” he said.

“We're looking for a group of people and I have reason to believe that they could be here,” said the voice from outside, “I just want to check.”

“Look, no one's gonna be dumb enough to take in strangers, especially not ones wanted by the facility. But I wanna know why you think they might be here. Lemme get dressed and I'll be out in a minute to talk to you,” Chiyo said.

He turned back towards them all and motioned silently towards a trapdoor at the back of the barn. It looked as if it had been dug out by Chiyo and his friend over the time they'd been living here. Having a backdoor probably made all the difference in a zombie apocalypse.

Sousuke nodded and took his hand away from Makoto's mouth. With that, everyone crept towards the trapdoor as quickly and quietly as possible. Noriko was closest to it, which fortunately meant that she didn't have far to walk. All the time that they moved, Chiyo made as much noise as he could pretending to get changed, even though he was already dressed. It was so he could cover for them and Makoto appreciated that.

The trapdoor opened easily. First Noriko went out, then Haru, Hayato, Kisumi and Makoto. Sousuke left last, as usual, making sure that everyone got out all right. Once they were through, Sousuke closed the trapdoor behind them. The tunnel leading outside was short, but it took them directly into the forest, so they had the cover of the trees.

They could hear Chiyo and the man from the facility talking now, so he must have gone out the front. The best choice they had was to remain hidden until the man left, since they didn't know where to go without Chiyo to guide them.

“Let's go deeper into the forest,” Sousuke whispered.

“You go,” Makoto replied, “I want to find out what's going on if the facility are going to be looking for us.”

With that, he moved away from their group and edged around the side of the barn. He knew that Sousuke would have wanted to go in his place, but they needed Sousuke to look after their group. If any of them were going to get caught, Makoto would rather it was him.

He got as near as he felt that he could without being spotted and pressed close to the barn as he listened.

“So you definitely didn't see anyone come out the helicopter?” the man asked. And now that Makoto could get a look at him, he saw that he was dressed in the guard uniform from the facility.

“Nah, it was empty when we got back,” said Chiyo, “We figured it was just you guys, so we left it alone.”

“Very good of you not to raid it,” the guard said, accusingly.

“Not worth getting mixed up with the facility. You know we live here, so we figured you'd come knocking if we took anything,” Chiyo dismissed.

At that moment, the guard's walkie-talkie crackled to life.

“...Have you found anything else? Over...”

The guard took the walkie-talkie from his belt and replied, “They're not on the helicopter. I just came to ask one of the guys from the barn, but he hasn't seen them either. Over.”

“...Which guy? Over...”

“You know... the... uh,” the guard hesitated, “...The one with the... dreadlocks? The bigger one of the two. Dark hair and, um...”

“The black guy?” Chiyo offered, trying to be helpful. He was probably used to people awkwardly trying to talk around it.

“...Oh, him! Why didn't you say so? And he hasn't seen anything? Over...”

“He says that he hasn't, but I'm just about to search his barn. I'll get back to you if I find anything. Over and out,” said the guard.

“You could ask nicely, but sure, I'll let you look. There isn't anything there that I'm trying to hide,” replied Chiyo.

“Not even your friend?” asked the guard, suddenly sounding even more suspicious.

“He's out raiding. We didn't get enough today, so he wanted to try his luck. Who am I to stop him?” Chiyo countered.

“Well, for his sake, I hope he doesn't run into the group we're looking for,” said the guard, “They have a zombie with them. A talking one. But it isn't any less dangerous than any other zombie you could meet. They might've trained it to attack.”

“A talking zombie? Sounds pretty crazy. That something that escaped from your facility?” Chiyo checked.

“I can't comment on that,” replied the guard, “But I can say that if you come across a group like that, the facility would pay you a pretty penny for the safe return of a researcher they have with them. He'd be the youngest one in the group, quite short and slim, with a kind of... strawberry ginger hair, I guess. It's pretty striking. He's the one that we're looking for. Take down any of the others, but the facility would like to get that one back alive.”

“We don't kill if we can avoid it,” Chiyo assured, “But anyway, I was kinda hoping to get some rest tonight, so maybe we could get this search of yours over with.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

After that, Makoto heard footsteps as Chiyo led the guard into the barn. He dared not move now, not even to go back into the forest to rejoin the others. It would be too much of a risk. As he heard the two of them talking inside, Makoto glanced towards the helicopter. There was a an armoured van parked next to it, which must have belonged to the guard.

It looked like they weren't going to be getting to the cottage by air any more...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having gotten away from the guard searching the barn, their group heads out to the trade post in hope of finding supplies that will help them get back to the cottage. But what they find there is something that they didn't even know they were looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been excited about the reveal in this chapter for some time.

The guard was annoyingly thorough in his search of the barn. Makoto couldn't hear what he was saying as easily now that they were inside, but from the way he was thumping around, it was clear that he was checking everything. Had they left anything lying around that would make it obvious they were there? It wasn't as if they'd had time to check before they'd sneaked out. Hopefully Chiyo could put any mess down to him and his friend just living that way.

But the worst part was when the guard discovered the trapdoor. Makoto didn't realise he had until he came out the other side, at the back of the barn. All Makoto could do was press closer to where he was standing around the side and hope that the guard wouldn't investigate further.

“Pretty clear shot into the forest from out here,” the guard said, “Easy to get away if someone was hiding.”

“That's the idea,” Chiyo replied. For a moment Makoto's heart was in his mouth. He thought that Chiyo was going to give the game away. But then Chiyo added, “If zombies get in around the front, we wanted an easy escape route. Can't blame us for that.”

“I guess not,” muttered the guard. Then he sighed; “Looks like even if you aren't being honest, they'd be gone by now anyway. So fine, consider this search over, you can have your barn back. But the helicopter is facility property. There's already people coming to fetch it, so don't even think about touching it.”

“Wouldn't dream of it. As long as you guys keep away from the barn, I see no reason to bother you either. I might head out soon anyway. It's been a while since my friend left and I'm worried about him,” said Chiyo.

“You have my word that we won't bother you unless we have to. Well, best of luck in your search. I hope you find him instead of those crazed escapees,” the guard replied.

“Yeah, me too...”

With that, the guard left. Makoto listened to the sound of his footsteps as he headed back in through the trapdoor and then out the front of the barn. It was lucky he hadn't walked around the side. Once Makoto felt that the coast was clear, he slipped around to the back of the barn. Then he went a little way into the forest to wait for Chiyo. He didn't go to find the others yet, because Makoto had questions and he felt that it'd be better to ask them when it was just the two of them.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Chiyo came into the forest, after having locked the barn from the front. He walked through the trees, looking around, but didn't hear Makoto until Makoto was walking beside him. It had been a while, but Makoto was still good at sneaking through forests.

“You're a raider yourself, aren't you?” Makoto asked, before anything else.

“I haven't been trying to hide it,” Chiyo replied, not seeming too surprised by Makoto's sudden arrival, “Everyone is out here.”

“We're not,” Makoto countered.

“So you built that cottage in the mountains from scratch?” Chiyo challenged, “Look, call it whatever you want, but we're all doing the same thing. Even the supplies that get taken back to the compound come from somewhere.”

“All right, you have me on that one. But after what I just heard from that guard, you can't blame me for being worried. They're looking for us,” Makoto said.

“They're looking for Hayato. And if you're trying to ask if I'd sell out my friend's brother, then the answer is no,” answered Chiyo.

That... had actually been what Makoto was getting at, but he didn't appreciate being called out about it. He was about to say as such, but then a familiar voice cut off their conversation.

“Is everything okay?”

Sousuke stepped out from further up ahead and the others weren't far behind him. All of them seemed anxious, even Hayato, who had no idea that he had the most reason to be.

“Yeah, but we're not getting that helicopter back,” Makoto answered, “And they're trying to find Hayato. They don't care about the rest of us, not even Haru, but they want Hayato back.”

“Something you're not telling us, kid?” Sousuke asked, turning to face Hayato.

“He was one of their brightest minds, so I'm not surprised they'd be looking for him,” Kisumi said, before Hayato could even open his mouth. It was Kisumi's protective older brother instincts kicking in.

Sousuke didn't want to start any arguments with Kisumi, so he shrugged and said, “Either way, I guess we should start moving to that trade post now. It'll be light soon anyway.”

“...Leeead the w-waaay...” Haru said, with a nod to Chiyo.

“Right... follow me,” replied Chiyo, stepping out in front of them, “It's kind of a long way off, but once we get closer, be on the lookout for snares and other traps.”

“Sounds friendly,” Noriko commented.

“Traders are the most at risk. They have to look after their wares somehow,” said Chiyo.

With that, their group set out. The walk probably wasn't as long as it seemed, but Noriko held them back, even if nobody wanted to say it. She stayed at the rear of the group, with Kisumi helping to support her. Sousuke wasn't far in front of them though. Makoto felt bad for him... He knew that Sousuke wanted to take a more active role in what was happening and that he probably resented being led around by a stranger, but he was also too worried about his mother to venture too far away from her. As much as Makoto would never wish for Noriko to have been left behind, he couldn't help but think there'd be a marked difference in Sousuke right now if not for her presence.

There was also the matter of getting to the cottage without the helicopter. None of them wanted to talk about it yet, but if Noriko was struggling to get through this forest, then it'd be hard to say how they'd make it up the mountain with her.

Ahead of them, Hayato walked on his own, looking around the trees and not saying a word. He always seemed like a solitary person when it came to their group, even if Makoto knew that he'd had lots of friends back at the compound. Hayato came with them because he had to, he was their ticket out. But if none of this had come about, Makoto could tell that Hayato never would have left the compound. Hopefully once they'd been out here for a while, Hayato would grow to like it. Even with the constant risk of zombies, raiders and the facility...

Haru and Chiyo were at the front, talking to each other as they walked. Haru didn't say very much, but he seemed to enjoy Chiyo's company. Part of Makoto was surprised that Haru wasn't just as wary of Chiyo as Makoto was. It almost felt as if Makoto was being jealous on Haru's behalf. Even if that was ridiculous, because if Haru had seen no reason to worry based on those photos, then Makoto shouldn't either.

And sure enough, the closer they got to the trade post, the more dangerous the forest suddenly became. But in an obvious way. There were traps on display everywhere, though more for show than to cause any actual harm. There were also various spray-painted signs, warning off anyone who might try looting. From the tone of them, it sounded as if whoever was running the trade post wouldn't hesitate to shoot someone who got on the wrong side of them. Makoto hoped that wouldn't be their group.

Eventually, the trees ebbed off as they got towards a cliff face. There were several caves further up and metal pegs on the ledges that must have held rope ladders, but all of them were currently drawn up. There was no way for any outsiders to climb up to the caves. Though there was a bell drilled into the cliff face, low enough down to grab its long chain. Chiyo took hold of it and rang the bell, so casually that Makoto could tell that he'd done this many times before.

“Hey! It's Chiyo!” he called up, “I've got some friends with me. They just broke out of the compound and they could do with some supplies.”

“What, seriously?”

There was the sound of movement up above, as someone headed out of the cave. But that wasn't what caught Makoto's attention as much as the fact that the voice sounded almost familiar to him. From the way that Sousuke tensed up, he could tell that he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

A head appeared above them, looking down from the ledge. Long, red hair dangled down along with it and a surprised face that belonged to someone they all knew well, even if she was older now.

“Gou!”

Sousuke charged forward first, he'd probably try to climb the cliff face without support if someone didn't stop him. But Makoto couldn't blame him. All of them were shocked to see her out here and Gou must have felt equally shocked to see them.

“Sousuke...” she gasped, “And Makoto, Haru, Kisumi... even Mrs. Yamazaki! You guys... you all made it!”

“You know them?” Chiyo asked, looking around everyone without any idea what he'd brought about.

“Know them? They were my closest friends!” Gou answered, “Just let me lower the ladder and you can all climb up. I just can't believe this... After all these years! You have to tell me everything.” Then she hesitated; “...Haru, are you all right?”

“...N-neveeer bett-ter...” croaked Haru.

“It's kind of a long story, but believe us that he's safe,” Makoto called up.

“I'd believe anything from you guys,” assured Gou, “Come on up.”

She dropped the nearest rope ladder. As soon as it got down to them, Sousuke grabbed on and climbed up. He was hugging Gou tightly by the time that Makoto reached the top. Once he'd let go, Makoto did the same.

“It's you... it's really you...” Makoto mumbled into her shoulder.

The others didn't get up the ladder quite as fast. Which Makoto then realised was because of Noriko. At the bottom, Kisumi and Chiyo were helping her onto the ladder. Sousuke and Makoto went to the top to help pull her up. She was puffing and panting by the time she got to the top, but Gou was already on hand with a glass of water.

“Th-thank you, dear...” Noriko whispered.

“Don't worry about it, Mrs. Yamazaki. You can rest here for as long as you need,” Gou replied.

Kisumi and Haru were up the ladder by now. Gou went over to hug Haru, despite him clearly being a zombie and Haru patted her back softly in return. She then pulled away to greet Kisumi, as Chiyo and Hayato climbed up the ladder to join them. With everyone at the caves now, Chiyo pulled the ladder up after them. No one took unnecessary risks out here.

“You guys have to tell me everything,” Gou insisted, “I thought that I was the only one who made it.”

“We thought the zombies had got you as well. That's what Rin said,” Makoto replied.

Gou paused for a moment. She looked down at the ground and sighed. They could tell it wasn't going to be an easy story for her to recount.

“That was... what I wanted him to think,” she admitted, “I'm not proud of what I did, but he needed the chance to get away, even if I know now that it didn't do him any good in the end...” She moved over to one of the cushions that were littered around on the inside of the cave and took a seat, before motioning for the rest of them to come join her; “...We were at home when the outbreak happened. You know Rin, his first thoughts were to find everyone and get them to safety. So we headed out together, but we didn't get too far before we were attacked. It was around the docks that it happened. The zombies got between us. Rin... h-he... tried to fight his way to me, but I knew that he'd never get there without being bitten and that... that you guys would need him... He wouldn't listen to me screaming at him to leave! No matter what I said... So I... I threw myself into the ocean and hoped he wouldn't follow. On the way down I must've hit my head or maybe I didn't and I just spaced out... Maybe I swam... But whatever happened, I don't remember anything until I washed up on the shore outside of town. By that point, it was already too late... When I got back to Iwatobi, there was no one. But I saw Rin... And I saw some of the others. I'd hoped that I'd given Rin a chance, but...”

Haru put a hand on Gou's arm.

“...Rin d-died... pro-teccctiiing the oth-thersss... f-from-”

“-from zombies,” Sousuke abruptly finished, “And if we didn't have Rin with us back then, we might not have made it out alive.” He wasn't going to let either Haru or Gou blame themselves.

“Well, even if it took you a long time to get here, I'm glad that we found each other in the end,” Gou replied, giving both of them a thankful smile, “Once I knew there was no one left to find in Iwatobi, I set out for the country without any clear idea what to do. That was when I met up with Chiyo and Hibiki, who were escaping from Sano. Hey... where is Hibiki anyway?”

She looked over at Chiyo and he just shook his head.

“We got careless. He's not with us now,” Chiyo answered.

“Oh Chiyo, I'm so sorry...” Gou whispered, “We always used to joke about how he'd never make it...”

“Maybe this was a release for him,” said Chiyo, “He just wanted escapism and everyday it got harder and harder for him to do that. He'd just stare at the pages of books, but not see the stories. So maybe... this is a good thing... But y-yeah. Better carry on though, so everyone can get caught up...”

Gou sighed. This wasn't the right outlet for Chiyo to deal with his grief, bottling it up while the others talked. But he also wasn't wrong that they did all need to catch up with each other.

“There's not much else for me to say after that,” she admitted, “I survived. After a while, I found this place and setting up a trade post seemed like a good idea. It has been a good idea. So I left Chiyo and Hibiki to the barn after that, but we've been friends ever since. And even though this world is far from perfect, I carried on, because that's what I had to do.”

“You always were the most resourceful of us all,” Makoto said, “And while what happened in Iwatobi was... well, what it was... I'm glad that it meant that we could all find each other in the end.”

“Me too,” Gou agreed, “So tell me what happened to you guys! I'm betting that's a long story.”

“It definitely is!” replied Makoto, laughing a little despite himself. Then he nodded and continued, since the others seemed happy for him to tell this tale, “Sousuke and I were the only ones who made it out of Iwatobi from our group. When we got to Sano, we met up with Kisumi, Hayato and Mother- ...I mean, ah, Noriko.”

“She's your mother now?” Gou checked.

“I'm everyone's mother,” Noriko sternly insisted, from where she sat sipping her cup of water.

“Y-yeah, well... the group of us headed out for the mountains. We didn't know exactly where we were going, just... anywhere that might've been safe. We were hoping some of the other cities wouldn't have been infected yet, even if we know now that they are,” Makoto went on, “But then Haru... he followed us. He followed me. By the time he reached us, we knew there was something different about him, so we... took him in.”

That was a much shorter version of what actually happened, but Makoto would rather not recount all the struggles and disagreements that Haru caused their group. It had been years now and they were all different people back then.

“Okay, so how did you become a magic zombie, Haru?” Gou asked.

Haru pointed towards Hayato and said, “...He k-knoowsss... I j-just g-geeet onnn... w-with it a-a-anndddd dooon't ask... quessstionsss...”

“I don't know for sure, I just have theories,” Hayato corrected, “But there are certain conditions that I believe can result in a zombie like Haru. Some people who... have brains that work differently – sorry Haru – seem to have a stronger immunity to the infection. Not a total immunity, because look at him, but they do seem to be able to recover mental functions. Though for that to work, they need to be in an environment away from other zombies so they can recover. Which is why they're so rare. In all of my years studying zombies, I only ever came across fourteen who were like Haru. And now... well, Haru might be the only one.”

“Typical Haru, always has to be different,” said Gou. She reached over to ruffle Haru's hair; “I also can't believe that's you, Hayato! You were so tiny the last time I saw you. And now you're a... scientist?”

“Pretty much,” Hayato replied, failing not to look smug.

“A scientist that's wanted by the facility,” Sousuke added, “But to carry on with what Makoto was saying, we found a cottage deep in the mountains. Then after... a few months, I think, some people from the compound found us and took Kisumi, Hayato and Mother away. Though they wouldn't take Haru, of course, so Makoto and I stayed with him. It was years later when Hayato came back to us, promising that there was a place for Haru in the compound now...”

Sousuke trailed off there. It was a loaded statement. Even now, Makoto knew that Sousuke harboured a grudge towards Hayato for lying to them, no matter how good Hayato's intentions might've been.

“But things didn't work out at the compound,” Makoto quickly went on, not wanting to dwell on that part, “So we stole a helicopter and here we are. The helicopter didn't make it, but we did.”

“That's... all a lot to take in,” Gou said.

“Yeah, and you got the short version,” assured Kisumi, “If you want all the juicy details about how Sousuke and Makoto hooked up, then I can tell you later.”

“You guys are together now!” gasped Gou, “Oh wow...! I'm so happy for you!”

“We keep our private life private, but yeah...” Sousuke replied, “I couldn't picture my life without Makoto.”

“Sousuke...” Makoto whispered. He touched Sousuke's arm lightly, moved by him saying something like that. It was unusual for Sousuke to show his affections so openly in front of others.

“Well, I can see that the two of you mean a lot to each other,” said Gou.

“Haru and me got together as well, but that's kind of a recent development,” Kisumi continued.

“Looks like I missed out on all the good stuff,” Gou chuckled, “But it sounds as if that brings us up to date. So what now?”

“Now, we were heading back to our home, the cottage in the mountains,” answered Sousuke, “But the facility is on our trail, since they want Hayato back, so I'm not sure how safe it'll be there. We at least want to try to get there, so we can figure out if we can live there and what we can do after that if we can't.”

“But Mrs. Yamazaki won't be able to make the journey on foot, so I brought them to you for help,” said Chiyo. He was given a sharp look from Noriko for saying as such, but she didn't object. So Chiyo continued, “It won't be too difficult to find a car, but fuel is the problem. Do you have any?”

Gou snorted; “If I had fuel, then I wouldn't have been bartering with you over the price of a few measly rounds of ammo the last time you came out here, would I? No, I haven't been lucky enough to see any fuel come through in a long time. But we both know who has plenty of it – those guys from the compound. I haven't been over that way in a while, but I think they still do supply runs through Samezuka, don't they?”

“Yeah, you can time them like clockwork out there,” replied Chiyo, “And if you're planning what I think you are, then that sounds like the best option.”

“Maybe the only option,” Gou said. Then she turned back to the rest of them; “I can get you a ride up the mountains, I think. We could steal a compound vehicle and drive it as close as we can to your cottage without getting caught.”

“So you want us to... raid from the compound?” Makoto checked.

“If it's the only way, then we can't turn our nose up,” said Sousuke, “But how do you plan on getting one? I doubt they'd just let you take it.”

“Messing with those guys is usually something I avoid if I can, but in this case we'll have to,” Gou said, “Hayato will have to wait here if the facility is after him and of course Mrs. Yamazaki will as well. But they'll need someone to keep an eye on them, just in case.”

“...I caaan... d-doo thaaattt...” said Haru, “...N-not s-saafe foor... m-mee to be... aroo-ound otheeer zzom-biesss any-waaay...”

“Yeah, in that case you'd better stay here. Plenty of zombies in Samezuka,” Gou agreed, “In fact, it might be better if just Chiyo and me head out, since we've done this before. Too many cooks can spoil the broth.”

“I want to go,” Sousuke insisted.

He needed this. He needed to feel useful to them after everything that had happened and Makoto knew that he'd go spare if he had to wait around here, knowing that other people were putting themselves in danger on their behalf. But... as much as Makoto hated himself for thinking it, Sousuke was out of his depths here and Makoto wasn't going to let him walk into that without him.

“I'm going too,” Makoto volunteered, “We'll be able to hold our own. If you have weapons, then I know my way around a shotgun and no one's better with an axe than Sousuke.”

“All right then, I'll fix you guys up with both of those,” said Gou, “We can get ready and then head out whenever you want.”

“The sooner the better,” Sousuke decided.

So they... had a plan now. At least a temporary one. They would get a vehicle and then drive up the mountains. Hopefully Noriko would be able to handle walking the trail once the car wouldn't get them any further. And then once they'd gotten to the cottage they would... decide what to do next. It didn't seem like a very secure plan, but it had to be enough for now.

Makoto had mixed feelings about going out raiding with Gou, even if she'd clearly been surviving fine up until this point, so he had no reason to judge her. It was just a far cry from young girl he remembered, who whipped their swim team into shape and fawned over muscles at every chance she got. Yet they're probably all a far cry from what she remembered as well. All of them were older now, having grown up and come into their own in this post-outbreak world. But they trusted each other and that was what mattered. Makoto trusted Gou to help them.

His eyes drifted onto Chiyo, who was now checking through a box marked 'ammo' and getting ready to head out to Samezuka with them. Yes, Makoto definitely trusted Gou at least...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of their group has headed out in search of a compound vehicle they can steal to get them up the mountains. Sousuke and Makoto still have their doubts about a few matters, but they need to put their trust in the people they're with to come through for now.

Makoto's legs had gone numb from how long they'd all been crouched down. They were behind a hedge, a little way from a car park that was fenced off from them by wire mesh. The hedge, like much of Samezuka, was in a state of overgrown disrepair, but the car park was kept pristine and heavily guarded. These were the vehicles that were actually worth having – they contained fuel. Makoto wagered that there wasn't a drop of fuel left in all of the many cars they'd passed on the way here. It had been years and those who survived must have worked fast to get what they needed.

“So how does the compound even have so much fuel?” Makoto asked, because they'd been silent for too long.

Gou didn't break her gaze away from the car park as she replied; “They get first dibs. When you have a lot of guns and you decide you own something, it's harder for people to argue with you. Maybe they import it as well though, I wouldn't know about that.”

“Hayato might know,” said Sousuke. Because he wasn't going to let the whole Hayato situation lie.

“You could ask him,” Gou said, “What's that kid's deal anyway? You said he was some sort of scientist and that the facility are after him. But why is he so impor- ...Wait, hold that thought. Looks like Chiyo's coming back.”

Sure enough, the large figure of Chiyo made its way out from around one of the buildings and headed back over to their group. Makoto would almost wonder how someone so big managed to hide themselves, but then the same could be said of both Sousuke and himself. Poor Gou looked tiny next to the three of them.

“It's exactly what you'd expect,” Chiyo informed, as he rejoined them, “The guards on the front haven't changed since we got here. If we want to figure out their shifts, then we'll have to hang around a lot longer than we already have and there's a high enough risk that we might get caught. They only open the gates to let vehicles in and out. As much as we'd have the pick of the crop if we got into that car park, I don't fancy our chances getting back out again.”

“Best just to grab one after they've left the car park then,” said Gou, “Everyone that arrives will be on a schedule, so they'll notice if someone doesn't turn up. But after they've left, no one's keeping track on them. At least not here.”

“And by the time they do notice someone's missing, hopefully we'll be long gone,” Sousuke said.

“That's the plan. The only problem is that most of the ways out of Samezuka are heavily guarded,” said Gou, “We'll need to find a weak point to get the jump on them.” She looked at Chiyo; “Any suggestions there?”

“Yeah, there's a lot of zombies over by east side, which means they aren't maintaining that exit as well. If we can catch someone leaving that way, then they'll be less likely to get backup to them as quickly,” Chiyo replied.

“East it is then. Let's go, boys,” prompted Gou.

With that, the four of them headed out, keeping as low to the ground as possible. As they moved, Makoto did notice that there were hardly any zombies where the workers from the compound were frequently seen. Most probably the zombies had been cleared out years ago. But the further they got to the edge of town, the more the zombies started to creep back in. It was a strange situation. At one point, zombies had been the biggest fear. They'd brought about the end of society. And yet now the prospect of zombies didn't seem half as intimidating as the compound guards. At the end of the day, zombies just wanted to eat your flesh and wander around. There was nothing more going on in their heads than that. It was the people with actual thoughts and actual guns that were the most dangerous.

The streets were a wreck by the time they got as far to the east as the town went before it trailed off into the countryside. Nothing of value was here for anyone to take.

“Are you sure they even drive out this way?” Sousuke checked.

“I doubt they do regularly, but this is our best shot,” replied Chiyo.

Hopefully someone would turn up before the end of the day, as Makoto didn't want to be hanging around here overnight. He thought of the others, who should all be safe enough back in the forest, but he didn't want to worry them longer than necessary.

“Hey, so what's our plan then?” asked Makoto, since they'd all stopped walking now and were milling about at the side of the road.

Gou and Chiyo exchanged looks with each other, as if not sure how to address the elephant in the room.

“We'll get the jump on them,” Gou said, after a pause, “You two can be our backup.”

“That means stay out of the way and don't get hurt, doesn't it?” Sousuke grumbled, “Gou, I'm capable. We're both capable. If we can be the ones protecting you, then we shou-”

But Gou didn't let him finish that sentence. She marched over and poked Sousuke in the chest, glaring up at him.

“Look, I trust you. I know both of you are strong, but you're new to this. Believe me that I've been doing this for years and that I can handle myself,” she snapped.

It was almost comical to see Sousuke whither under her gaze.

“...Fine. I'm sorry for being overprotective,” he sighed, “I just don't want to lose you again.”

“You won't lose me again. Especially not if you do a good job as backup,” assured Gou, “They'll be expecting Chiyo and me. We've lived around these parts for a long time. But they don't know either of you. You're our aces in the hole.”

Sousuke smirked; “Aces in the hole, huh? All right, I can live with that.”

Perhaps it wasn't exactly what Sousuke would have liked, but he seemed satisfied for now. The main issue was just waiting for something to turn up. Makoto didn't bother keeping track of time, but they were there long enough that occasionally some zombies would take interest and wander over. They never got too close though, as one of their group was always able to see them coming from a distance and shoot them off. It was probably good practise, if nothing else. As Makoto managed to knock one zombie's head clean off its shoulders, he felt his sense for the shotgun come flooding back to him. This was his weapon. Perhaps it wasn't as practical as the handguns that Gou and Chiyo had, but he preferred it.

By the time something did show up, all of them were caught by surprise. Sousuke was sat on the pavement, staring idly ahead, when suddenly he jumped up and called over.

“There's a van coming!” he hissed.

“Right, you two find somewhere to hide,” Gou instructed, “Chiyo, you take the left side and I'll take the right.”

No one needed to be told twice. Makoto followed Sousuke into the nearest building, the door of which was hanging open from having been raided years ago. They went far enough into the hallway so not to be spotted and then looked back out, just as the van drove past where they were.

It was hard to tell if it was because they'd been spotted or if the other two had done something else to attract attention, but they heard the brakes screech from the van. It had stopped. A door opened and then a voice could be heard.

“What's the trade post raider doing out here? Some hidden gems we don't know about?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Gou's voice rang out, “Don't see too many compound workers leave this way. Hiding something?”

“For your information, I'm off-duty right now. There's a boy with a high bounty lurking around and everyone who's got any sense is after him. I bet that's why you're out as well, isn't it?”

“Off duty, huh? That means no one's keeping tabs on where you are,” said Gou. Their luck couldn't be better.

“Don't get cocky, little girl. At least I have people keeping an eye on me. Doubt anyone would notice if you didn't come home. Not until they want something from you, anyway.”

Makoto heard gunfire, but by that point, Sousuke was already on the move. He headed out the door and charged for the van, with Makoto following behind him only seconds later. Outside, Makoto saw Gou roll to the side and then try to get a few shots of her own in, but the compound worker ran for cover behind his van and none of them wanted to damage that.

Pity for this guy, he'd just tried to shoot Gou in the presence of Sousuke. Before the worker even knew what was happening, Sousuke was on him. He knocked him down to the ground and was punching wildly. Makoto headed over to Gou as fast as he could.

“Are you all right?” he called.

“His gun!” Gou yelled, “He'll shoot out the tires!”

Sure enough, the man seemed to have clicked on what it was they were after and aimed for the van, even while Sousuke was punching his face over and over. That was when Chiyo appeared and grabbed the man's arms, pinning them to the ground. The gun was fired off blindly, but the bullet sailed under the van and thankfully didn't hit anything.

“Hold him steady!” Gou shouted.

She rushed over as both Sousuke and Chiyo kept the man in place, then she flanked down his side and she pulled the keys out of his pockets. By that point, Chiyo had managed to get the gun out of his grasp and quickly confiscated it. The man was suddenly harmless, save for his fists. But he wasn't in any position to use them.

“We'll keep him down while you guys start the van up,” Sousuke said. His teeth were gritted and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead from the effort of keeping the man restrained.

Neither Gou nor Makoto wasted any time. They climbed into the van and Gou started it up again. A quick glance at the dashboard showed there was more than half a tank of fuel in it. They were good to go. Makoto climbed through into the back as Gou started to drive away and flung open the doors so the other two could climb in after them. Once they'd let go of the compound worker they'd have to move fast.

“Come on!” Makoto yelled.

The van was only moving at a snail's pace for now. Sousuke jumped off the man and Chiyo let go of his arms. Then the two of them pelted after the van and jumped in through the back, landing in an unceremonious heap amongst Makoto and the supplies. Behind them, the worker got to his feet and began to give chase, but he wouldn't catch them. They'd be free until he managed to get to a compound building and call for backup.

Makoto untangles himself from the pile and pulled the door shut, as the man's yelling face was disappearing into the distance behind them. Then he slumped down and started to laugh.

“That was crazy...” he gasped.

“Honestly, that went pretty well,” Gou chimed from up front, “Looks like we got some supplies out of this, too. Shame I'm not going to be around to sell them for a while if we're heading up the mountains.”

“Yeah, and we'd better get a move on with that as soon as we can...” said Sousuke, as be pulled himself up, “From what that guy was saying, it sounds as if everyone's going to be after Hayato.”

“We will,” promised Gou, “I'll take the fastest route I can back to the forest and then we'll hurry the others into the van as quickly as possible.”

Hopefully that wouldn't be too much of a problem. Maybe they could carry Noriko again if they were going to be held up too much...

“Also, as much as I hate to say it, once word gets out, it won't just be the compound after Hayato any more,” Chiyo added, from where he'd sat up against the boxes, “We'll have to deal with raiders too. Some of them aren't as nice as us, either.”

“We'll manage,” assured Makoto, “We always do...”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their group heads out for the mountains, with the prospect of finally getting home in mind. But the world still wants Hayato's head and the reason why might be closer to coming to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of updates about this series! Firstly, I've been doing some planning up to the end of Leftovers and it looks likely that there'll be another fic in the series once Leftovers is done. So you'll have more zombie Free! To look forward to in future. Secondly, the assignments for the Makoto Birthday Exchange 2017 have been sent out and I'll be working on my fill for that as well. So there's a chance that updates for Leftovers might slow down while I'm working on my assignment. But either way the end result is more Makoto fics and that's never a bad thing.

Most of their group sat low in the back of the van as it rattled along the mountain road. Gou and Chiyo were up front, as they were the ones who'd rouse the least suspicion if they were seen. At least not more than the suspicion they'd get for driving a compound vehicle regardless. But Makoto assumed that they'd be neither the first nor the last to steal one of these vans.

Yet despite all their caution, they hadn't passed anyone else the whole time they'd been out on the road and that was definitely for the best. They were far enough into the mountains now and most people probably didn't come this way. There had to be a reason why Makoto, Sousuke and Haru had never encountered any other survivors the whole time they'd lived out here and that reason was likely just that they were too far away from anything to be worth looking for. If that remained true once they got back to the cottage this time, then Makoto would be happy. And he wouldn't be the only one...

Sousuke was sitting with Noriko, as was becoming the usual. The rest at Gou's trade post seemed to have done her good. Despite the threat of everyone in Japan potentially being on the hunt for Hayato, they hadn't hurried her to the van in the end. They'd taken their time and even brought some supplies with them. There was so much good stuff at the trade post that it was a shame to have left most of it behind. Gou said that she'd hope it'd be left alone until she got back, but if not, then that was just the way of the world. As a trader, she didn't get too attached to material goods. Still, they brought all of the ammo with them. No point in wasting that.

It was evening by the time the van slowed to a halt and the sky overhead was dimming to a blueish grey. Sousuke leaned over towards the front, since it seemed there was no one around to see them outside.

“This looks close enough,” he said, “There's the remains of our old bonfire. You can tell that no one comes this way.”

“So what now?” Hayato asked.

“Now we get out and walk,” answered Sousuke, ignoring the face that Hayato pulled, “The van won't last off the trail and down the hill. So we'll have to make a couple of trips to carry the supplies. It isn't too far though.”

For Sousuke, Makoto and Haru, the route from here on out would be a familiar one. It didn't seem like a long way to them, but perhaps the same couldn't be said for the others. None of them dared complain though, not even Hayato. And definitely not Noriko, who had the most reason to complain out of anyone. No one asked her to carry anything, yet all the same she took a bundle of blankets and headed off through the trees with the rest of them.

Haru led up front for once. Makoto could tell that being out in the air of the forest – their forest – after so many months of imprisonment was doing him a world of good. He kept bounding off ahead to check, only to come back and tell them there was no danger. He'd have been able to tell them a lot sooner if there were any other zombies around, after all.

At one point he disappeared for a while longer and when he came back, a dead rabbit dangled from his jaws.

“Gross...” Hayato muttered.

Kisumi laughed; “You're going to have to get used to that when we're living out here.”

Hearing it said that way made it hit home with Makoto. They were going to be living here. Hopefully. He'd been focused so much on the getting here that he hadn't thought too much on what would come after that. But surely the end goal was to be able to live safely in the cottage.

Would that be the same for all of them? Makoto looked around their group. As Sousuke and Noriko both obstinately walked ahead, he knew that it'd be true for them. Noriko had even said that she didn't want to leave the cottage once she'd gotten there. Makoto reckoned that it was true of Haru and Kisumi as well. Maybe it hadn't worked out for Kisumi the first time, as he preferred to be surrounded by lots of other people, but times had changed and the compound had seen Kisumi alone in a crowd for far too long. Being with the people he was close to felt like Kisumi's main goal now. Yet that brought Makoto's thoughts to Hayato, who was still walking a good distance away from everyone else. None of them could figure Hayato out. If he truly wanted to stay with them or not was unclear, but what was clear was that he was the most wanted out of all of them... Lastly there was Chiyo and Gou. Chiyo was as much of a mystery to Makoto as Hayato was. Would he stay with them now that he didn't have his friend to look out for any more? And Gou... Makoto would like to think that she'd stay, but she'd actually been running a successful business out here. There was a chance that she'd want to go back to that.

So Makoto had to conclude that he didn't know what all of the others wanted. But he knew what he wanted and, at least for the moment, they were all heading to the same place. It was too premature to put a great deal of thought into what would happen when they got there.

“Are the hot springs still over there?” Kisumi asked, nodding in their direction.

“Yeah, not much has changed since you left,” said Makoto, “Except that there's less trees around the cottage. We needed the wood.”

They couldn't be far off now if they'd passed the hot springs. Makoto stared ahead, willing the trees out of the way as they walked towards the clearing...

...Then there it was. Quietly understated after everything they'd been through to get to it. The cottage stood out against the evening gloom. It seemed dark and cold from months of disuse, but no less inviting. Next to Makoto, he heard Kisumi gasp and he couldn't help but smile.

“Home at last...” Sousuke whispered.

Despite themselves, they approached with caution. There was still a risk that someone might've taken over the cottage in the months that they'd been away. But a quick patrol around saw that everything was exactly how they'd left it. When Sousuke opened the door, even the inside looked messy from where they'd dropped their lives to get on that helicopter with Hayato.

“Honestly, I raised you to be tidier than this, Sousuke,” said Noriko, her tone fond.

Then she made her way over to a chair by the fire and sat down. Which prompted Sousuke to get started on lighting the fire for them. It took about a minute for him to get it going, but once the warm, orange glow illuminated the cottage it suddenly seemed a lot more inviting.

“...Sooo th-thiss... iss it theeen...? ...W-we'reee ho-oome...” Haru said.

“I hope so,” Sousuke replied.

It was actually strange to see Haru inside the cottage. Back before they'd left, he'd refused to come indoors in case he was a risk to Makoto and Sousuke. But now they all knew they were safest if they stuck together. Speaking of which, the cottage would be a cosy fit for eight people... Yet Makoto knew that they'd make do. Once again, that would depend on if everyone here did want to stay with them for the long haul.

“Hey, so I'm going to do another run back to the van,” Gou called, cutting into Makoto's thoughts, “Anyone want to come with me?”

Sousuke was on his feet instantly and Makoto decided it'd be best to join them too.

“I think it'll be fine if just the three of us go,” Makoto suggested, “Gives you all a chance to rest your feet.”

He half suspected that Chiyo would offer to come, but it seemed that he was sat talking to Kisumi now. Makoto wished that didn't bother him as much as it did... He watched as Haru went over to join them. Whatever history Chiyo and Kisumi had clearly wasn't bothering him. Was Makoto just being petty?

Either way, he shelved his concerns for now and headed out with Sousuke and Gou. The walk back to the van was faster now that they didn't have to wait on anyone else, though climbing up the hill would take a while to get used to again. They talked a little as they walked, but stayed mostly quiet. Everyone just felt so relieved that they'd actually managed to get here without incident. There was a chance that danger might turn up in future, but for now they seemed safe.

Once they were out on the road, Gou opened the back of the van and climbed in to grab some of the supplies. But then she suddenly stopped and stared back out onto the road.

“Can you hear that?” she asked.

Sure enough, when Makoto listened he could hear the unmistakable hum of another vehicle around the corner. Gou scrambled back out of the van and pulled the door shut. No matter who was coming, it wouldn't do them any good to be found with armfuls of ammo.

As the other vehicle came into view, they saw that it was another van, probably also stolen from the compound. But this one had clearly been taken years ago and was now covered in aged spray-paint, warning off looters. There were two women up front and the driver slowed the van to a stop as it drew level with them. The driver then lowered her window and leaned out.

“You got that thing pointin' the wrong way, haven't ya?” she said.

“Never the wrong way when you're heading out for supplies,” Gou replied, sounding much more casual than Makoto would have been if this had been down to him, “Why? Do you know something we don't?”

The driver snorted; “You guys musta been livin' under a rock if you haven't heard. Half of Japan is getting wind of some escapee kid that the compound's payin' a pretty penny for.”

...Hayato.

“We've been out here for days,” dismissed Gou, “What's so special about this kid? Money's money, but it'd have to be a lot to make it worth trekking over these mountains for.”

“Woah... you really are outta the loop!” gawped the second woman, “Maybe we shouldn't tell you, since the less competition the better, but it's only fair that everyone gets a shot. So the word we've heard – and this is probably fabricated – is that the compound lot are so keen to get this kid back because he's a scientist. And he has the cure.”

“The... cure?” echoed Gou.

“Use your head. What other cure would have raiders racing from all across Japan? The cure to everything!” the woman said, “It's probably a load of bull, but the compound's offering as much for him as if it wasn't. And if there is any chance we can get rid of the zombies, no matter how impossible that seems, then I don't want to miss out on that. The payment's a bonus, too.”

None of them knew what to say to that. The silence that fell amongst Gou, Sousuke and Makoto was almost enough to ruin their act. Thankfully, the two women seemed to read it as them being stunned that there was even a cure at all.

“So yeah, ya might wanna turn that van around,” said the driver, “We're hopin' to make it there before morning, so we can't stay here yakking much longer.”

“That's fine. We wouldn't want to hold you up...” Gou mumbled.

“See ya later, lady!” The driver concluded.

She winked at Gou, but didn't so much as look at either Sousuke or Makoto. Then again, they had let Gou do all the talking. With that, the women started up their van again and were gone as soon as they came, leaving the others standing quietly stunned for a while.

“He has the cure...” Sousuke eventually whispered.

“We don't know that,” said Makoto, “It could be something that the compound have made up to get him back.”

“There has to be some reason they're so keen to have him back. Whether it's that or not, we have to confront him about this. That kid's been keeping secrets for too long and I'm done playing whatever game he thinks this is. If we're going to be hiding him, then we deserve to know the truth,” Sousuke insisted.

And despite all of his worries, Makoto couldn't argue with that. So he just nodded, grateful that Gou then opened the van doors again as a distraction. The three of them loaded their arms with more supplies to carry to the cottage, but suddenly supplies weren't the biggest issue any more.

They were going to get the truth out of Hayato. It had been too long coming.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they get back to the cottage, Sousuke confronts Hayato and demands to know the truth about why he's being hunted. And although he finally gets answers, but they don't make the situation any easier, seeing to it that some of them won't be able to stay in the cottage as long as they had hoped.

When the three of them arrived back at the cottage, initially the others didn't realise that there was any cause for alarm. Why would they? After all, as far as they know, Makoto, Sousuke and Gou just went back to the van to bring supplies. Running into anyone else while they were out there seemed unlikely. But in this case, they had run into others.

One look at Makoto's face must have made it obvious that something was wrong though. Makoto noticed the looks of concern from the others as he got inside, but it wasn't Makoto they needed to worry about. Sousuke strode over towards Hayato, who was sitting by himself on one of the beds. He stood over Hayato with his arms folded and glared down at him. Hayato's face was a picture of confusion, at least on the surface, but even Makoto noticed that there was a slight trace of guilt about it. Hayato had something to hide. Did he suspect that Sousuke now knew that?

“Is everything all right?” Hayato asked.

“You know that everything isn't all right,” said Sousuke.

“Sousuke, what's this about?” Kisumi asked. He got up from where he'd been sat talking to Haru and Chiyo and walked over to Sousuke.

“We met some travellers while we were out. They were heading for Iwatobi. Looking for him,” Sousuke replied, with a nod towards Hayato, “They told us that a lot of people are looking for him.”

“...W-we kneeew... th-thaaat alr-reeeady...” said Haru.

“Yeah, but the difference is that these people told us why,” Sousuke said, “So Hayato... do you want to tell them or would you rather I break the news?”

Silence. All eyes were on Hayato. There was no way that he could get out of this one. He was fidgeting his hands nervously, but he didn't say a word.

“Hayato...?” Kisumi prompted.

But that didn't help. In fact, it probably made the situation worse. Hayato lowered his head, shoulders shaking. Makoto hoped that Sousuke might take mercy on him, but he didn't. And as much as Makoto hated himself for thinking like this, perhaps the only way to get the truth from Hayato was to force him onto the spot.

“...Very well then, I guess it's down to me,” said Sousuke, after he'd given Hayato what he'd deemed as enough time to answer, “They told us that the reason the compound is looking for Hayato is because he has the cure. The zombie cure.”

Now the silence that hit the room was a very different one to the silence of Hayato's nerves. It was a loud kind of silence. Everyone was stunned. Makoto had already known what Sousuke was going to say and even he was chilled by his words. Despite the possibility of a cure changing everything, part of Makoto didn't want it to be true. He didn't want to think that Hayato had hidden something so curial from them all. Hayato was a good person on the inside. His actions were for the right reasons. So maybe... maybe this was just a lie that the facility had come up with after all.

“Is it... true?” Makoto asked, cutting into the silence. He needed to know. They all needed to know.

Hayato's shoulders stopped shaking, but when he looked back up at them, there were tears in his eyes. The sight was unsettling. And even before he spoke, Makoto had his answer.

“It's not... as simple as you think...” he whispered.

“But is it true?” Sousuke demanded.

Hayato flinched; “...Yes. It is true...”

As the words came out, Makoto lurched forward to restrain Sousuke. But it wasn't Sousuke that he needed to worry about. Kisumi pushed past them both, taking hold of Hayato's shoulders and staring into his eyes. He looked horrified. An expression that Makoto had never seen from him before and he doubted that Hayato had done either.

“Hayato... why would you hide this...?” Kisumi asked, “Something so, so big... This could help so many people! Just... why? Tell me why...”

There was nothing left of Hayato's usual swagger now. The tears were falling hard and fast, but Kisumi didn't pull him into a hug like he might've otherwise done. Instead he stayed there, waiting for an answer. Hayato had to give them one now. They deserve that much.

“I did it... I did it for him!” Hayato suddenly snapped, pointing towards Haru, “Because if they go through with it, then he'll die as well! I don't want that! You don't want that! You... you care so much about Haru, Kisumi! I couldn't do that to both of you...”

Haru lurched over now and stood next to Kisumi. Of course Haru's expression couldn't be read, but he shook his head in a way that left no room for doubt.

“...Yoouuu c-caaan'ttt... doom the whoo-oole... w-world foo-or me...” he stated.

“Maybe you could explain to us how this cure works?” suggested Gou, “It's hard for us to know what we're dealing with when we've got nothing to go on.”

Hayato nodded. The tension in the room decreased, but only by a notch. It was enough to give Hayato the space to explain his answer. Kisumi let go of his shoulders and took a step back. It was almost sad to see him not give Hayato the comfort that he'd usually give him, but Makoto couldn't blame Kisumi's reluctance. They'd all trusted Hayato before... Makoto just hoped that they'd be able to keep trusting him after this.

“Right, so... I don't have the magical cure for everything. No one has that...” Hayato started, once he'd composed himself. He crossed his legs and looked out across the room, “...There are too many parts to the infection for one single act to fix everything. Take the water, for example. Even if you cured every water source, there'd still be the existing zombies wandering around, infecting people. On the other side of the coin, even if you shot every zombie in the world, there'd still be a chance that more people could be infected by a bad water source. So there's no one scientist working on a single cure. More accurately, there are many different facilities working on different aspects of the infection.”

“And where do you come into it?” Sousuke asked.

“Our facility was working directly with the zombies themselves. That was why we took in so many samples,” said Hayato, “We tested them to see what affected them and then we tested our theories out in different towns across Japan. Iwatobi was where we were running a noise frequency that seemed to dull their senses, it was very successful, as you saw for yourself.”

“The zombies there did seem subdued the first time we went,” agreed Sousuke. He looked over at Chiyo and Gou, who were both nodding in agreement from having been around Iwatobi a lot more than the others in recent years; “But they weren't when we rescued Chiyo. They were just acting like normal zombies.”

“That's because they'd shut down the frequency by then,” said Hayato, “They had to... because they didn't have the program to run it any more.”

“Let me guess, you have it?” Sousuke pressed.

“All in my head, yeah,” replied Hayato, “They'd temporarily recalled most of the research equipment from the towns to the facility and I destroyed the program there before we left. You saw what a shambles that place was when they were bringing Haru in, no one was paying attention to anything that was going on. They were all so spooked by the outbreak in that British compound that they didn't want anything to do with zombie research any more.”

“So what made them change their minds?” Gou asked.

“My guess would be the same reason as what scared them in the first place. They can't risk just hiding in their hole and hoping for the best now. They want to get rid of the zombies and fast,” said Hayato, “The noise frequency can do that. If they manage to perfect it – and they weren't far off – then they play it across different cities, it'll basically make every zombies' head explode. It'd take a while, but eventually they could cover all of Japan.” Hayato stared at Kisumi and Haru in particular now; “...So do you understand why I couldn't let them have it? Do you seriously think I could sit by and watch them murder Haru?”

Haru took a long, rattling breath.

“...Y-yoouuu sh-shoulddd haa-aave... t-tooold usss...” he said, “...The f-faa-ate of... the w-woorld isss... n-not yourrr ch-choice a-alonee too m-make... Ha-aayaatooo...”

“I won't let them kill you!” Hayato snapped.

“...Annddd I... w-won't l-leett... y-yoouu s-stop th-themm... fro-oom m-maaakingg... the worldd... s-safeee agaa-ain...” Haru replied.

“Are you all listening to this!” Hayato yelled, gesturing around the room, “Surely at least one of you must be on my side! You can't... want Haru dead!”

“Of course we don't want Haru dead,” replied Kisumi, who was looking very pale. Makoto could see that his cheeks were damp from silent tears; “...None of us want that. But Haru's right, we can't make the choice for everyone just on the basis of what benefits us...”

“But the council are just people as well! They'd put themselves first just as much,” argued Hayato, “Why do they get to speak for everyone?”

“Because, as much as I hate to say it, they're trying to help a lot more people than we are,” Makoto answered, “They speak for the many. We have to respect that...”

“So now what?” Gou asked, “It's all very well that we know Hayato has this information in his head, but what can we do about it?”

“If you want to put it into effect, if that's seriously what you want, then there is one way,” admitted Hayato, “Look, if we go to the compound they'll kill you all instantly, I have no doubts about that. But there is a facility branch in Tokyo... a lot of researchers who I trained with are there and it's far enough away from the compound that they can make their own choices. They're good people. If we get the cure into their hands then I... I trust them to make the right choices.”

“Do you though?” said Sousuke.

“Putting it into effect at all wouldn't be the choice I'd make, but then I guess I don't know the right choice, do I?” Hayato muttered, “We give it to them and I'll wash my hands of the business. But when Haru dies, I'll blame all of you, including myself.”

“...W-we'll crr-rosss th-thaaat... briidge... w-wheeen we c-comeee to iit...” said Haru, “...T-truuust meee... I w-won't d-diieee eass-ssilyyy... Y-youuu of a-all pee-eople... sh-shooould knoww th-thaat...”

“You make it sound so positive, but you just don't know how to deal with this!” Hayato shot.

“Then do you know?” Kisumi checked.

“I... well, no...” Hayato admitted, “...I know that the noise frequency doesn't travel far, so Haru might be safe out here in the mountains. But they'd keep working on it and they'd find a way to amplify it.”

“Then we'll get better at running,” assured Kisumi.

“Speak for yourself.”

The voice came from over by the fire. Noriko sat there, having quietly listened to this all transpire until now. Everyone turned to her and her face was as grim as ever, set into a decision that wouldn't be changed.

“You are all family to me. I love Haru as one of my own sons, but I cannot run any further,” she said, “It isn't for lack of wanting, I just physically can't. Take him to safety, do whatever you need to help him to survive, but I have to stay here. I'm sorry...”

“...Dooon'ttt... be s-sorrryy...” replied Haru, “...Y-you'reee n-not lett-iiing anyyyonnnee downn... W-wheen the t-tiime comesss... I w-will r-ruuunn a-and... y-youu will s-staaay s-safe...”

“But until then, we need to get this cure into the right hands,” said Sousuke.

“So you've all decided then?” Hayato asked, “It doesn't matter what I think? You're just going to drag me to Tokyo whether I want to go or not?”

“I mean, we don't have to drag you. It'd be a lot easier if you walked there willingly,” Sousuke pointed out.

“Hayato, please...” said Kisumi. He moved forward again, taking Hayato's hands, “I know that you thought you were doing this for the right reasons, that you were trying to protect us all by keeping this to yourself, but that's not the way to go about this. Not just because you can't make that decision for everyone, but because this burden is too much for you to bear as one person. I won't see you tear yourself apart over guilt... And you have been. I've seen the way you've been acting, the way you've distanced yourself... You don't deserve that. I don't want that for you.”

All this time, Makoto had thought that Hayato was distancing himself because he was lamenting the loss of that pilot he'd been involved with and perhaps also regretting leaving the comfort of the compound behind. But it turned out to be for a much bigger reason than that. Kisumi was right.

Hayato knew that he was right as well. He looked sadly across at Kisumi for a moment and then threw his arms around him, sobbing onto his shoulder. Kisumi returned the hug and the two of them rocked each other for a few moments. Even Sousuke wouldn't interrupt them. He'd played the bad cop to get Hayato to talk, but Sousuke wasn't cruel.

Once he'd composed himself, Hayato pulled back and nodded.

“...All right, I'll go to Tokyo. I'll give everything I know to the researchers there and then... then we can figure out what we'll do after that,” said Hayato. The decision had been made.

“So the next question is, who's going with him?” Gou said, “We know that you can't travel, Mrs. Yamazaki, but you also can't stay here on your own.”

Makoto looked at Sousuke, knowing that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Every instinct he had would be telling him that he should go with Hayato to protect him and having Sousuke there would be for the best. But it'd mean leaving his mother if he did go...

It seemed as if Noriko knew that as well though. She looked at Sousuke and shook her head.

“You have to go with him, Sousuke. I won't hear otherwise,” she said.

Sousuke nodded; “Yes, Mother... Thank you.”

“If Sousuke's going, then I am too,” Makoto said, “Someone has to stop him from being too reckless when he tries to be a hero.”

“You're good at that,” replied Sousuke, with a smirk.

“...I w-waant t-to gooo... as w-well...” said Haru, “...It m-miiight b-bee... a riiiskk... b-but I c-can w-warn yooouu... w-when zomb-iiies... are n-nearbyy...”

“That will be helpful,” Sousuke agreed, “I'll feel safer knowing that you're with us and I doubt I'm the only one. So it sounds like we have a decent amount of people who want to go...”

“...I'll stay,” said Kisumi, “Hayato is my brother and he means the world to me, but I know that he'll be safe with you. I trust you all. Whereas I know that I'm... not the best at this. I'm not under any delusions. I've lived in the safety of the compound for years and I've not had the experience out here that any of you have. If anything, I'd be more of a hindrance than a help. But I can look after Noriko. I've been helping her for a long time now. So I think that I'd be more useful to everyone if I stayed here.”

“Thank you, Kisumi... I appreciate it,” Noriko said, warmly.

“So do I,” said Sousuke, “But the two of you can't stay here on your own. I don't mean any disrespect, but if someone was to attack the cottage, raiders or zombies, then I'd want someone else here to be able to protect you.”

“Then I could do that,” offered Chiyo, speaking up for the first time during this discussion. Makoto wasn't sure he trusted that. Why was he only talking now? All the same, he listened as Chiyo went on; “I might not know this mountain, but I know this Japan and I can handle both raiders and zombies. If something comes up, I can protect them.”

Sousuke nodded; “That sounds-”

_“You're not staying here with Kisumi!”_

...The whole room turned to look at Makoto. At that point he realised that he'd been the one who'd spoken. Those words had come from his mouth. He looked mortified. What had he just said? Why... why did he...? Sure, he does think that maybe they're all being too trusting of Chiyo and that Haru should be a bit more concerned by Chiyo's history with Kisumi, but has he seriously been so bothered by it that he'd snapped without realising it?

Oh god...

Makoto looked from Chiyo to Haru to Kisumi, wanting to apologise to each of them. When his eyes moved to Kisumi, he saw Kisumi's face soften. He nodded at Makoto sympathetically and then he gave him an out.

“Chiyo, for all the reasons you've just said, I feel that it'd be better for you to go with the others,” he said, “You and Gou do know Japan better than all of us now. They'll need your experience to help them get safely into Tokyo.”

“And I'll be the one to stay here,” said Gou, “I'm better at keeping watch than Chiyo is anyway, so they'll be safe with me.”

The moment had passed. Kisumi and Gou had glossed over Makoto's outburst and none of the others were going to press it. Not even Chiyo himself. Makoto was grateful for that.

“Sounds like everyone's decided what they're going to do,” Sousuke said.

He looked around the cottage with a heavy heart and Makoto understood his feelings. They'd only just arrived. They'd barely even been here for an hour and suddenly they had to leave again. Would this be the last time? Makoto couldn't even be sure that they'd get back from this trip to Tokyo, but he had to have hope that they would manage. Their entire journey so far had been built upon hope and managing to slip by on slim odds. Their luck needed to last a while longer...

“No sense in heading out tonight,” said Chiyo, getting to his feet, “Best get some rest for now. We can plan properly tomorrow and go when we're ready.”

“Someone should keep watch for tonight though, since there are so many people after Hayato,” Gou suggested, “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“I'll do it,” said Makoto, before Haru could.

It'd make more sense for Haru to keep watch, since as a zombie, he didn't need sleep. But Makoto was still feeling uneasy after his outburst before. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Haru nod in agreement. Even now, Haru understood Makoto better than most.

“Then I'll sit up with you. No sense in being lonely,” Sousuke said.

Makoto looked across at him and saw a face that was full of understanding. In that moment, he knew that Sousuke didn't suspect him of any ill and that comforted Makoto. Because Makoto knew that his outburst hadn't been because he had any hidden feelings for Kisumi, not in the same way that he had feelings for Sousuke. He just felt so strongly protective over Kisumi and Haru... After everything they've all been through, the last thing the two of them needed was a threat to their relationship. Hopefully Chiyo wouldn't be a threat, but still... Makoto worried. And Sousuke got that. Maybe it'd do the two of them good to talk it through while they sitting watch tonight. Because Makoto didn't want to make any more baseless accusations. The next one might be more serious...

“Thank you...” he said, with a sigh.

“I'll come take over from you in a few hours,” Gou added, “You'll need to get some rest if you're heading off tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that's sounds good. Thanks, Gou,” Sousuke concluded.

Then he got to his feet and Makoto followed his example. The two of them bid the others a goodnight and went to sit out on the porch together. As soon as they'd closed the door behind them and gotten settled, Sousuke put his arm around Makoto. It felt nice. Makoto slumped against him, allowing the weight of the evening to lift for now.

“Never a moment's rest, huh...?” Makoto said, with a sigh.

“One day we'll get there,” promised Sousuke, “Mother is safe and happy now, so there's that. Maybe once we've gotten everything with Hayato sorted out... we can settle as well.”

That was a big 'maybe', but Makoto wouldn't bring the mood down by saying so. He reached across to lightly kiss Sousuke's cheek.

“I believe in us...” Makoto told him.

That much, he knew that was true. No matter what happened with Hayato or Chiyo or anyone else, Makoto knew in himself he could believe that at the core, they all wanted what was best for each other, even if they had different ways of going about it. He especially believed that of Sousuke and himself. They had endured so much and they would endure so much more. They had to, for everyone and for themselves.

Makoto wanted that to be a comforting thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though he feels bad about his outburst last night, Makoto still wants answers to put his worries concerning Chiyo to rest. So he talks about it with Gou, who's known Chiyo since she met him after the outbreak.

Much of the next day was spent preparing to leave for Tokyo. It was a tricky situation to plan for, because while they had the van, it wouldn't have enough fuel to get them there and back again. Gou was honest with them – the chances of coming across more fuel during the journey were slim. A better option would be to abandon the van once it ran out and then steal another compound vehicle if possible. So that meant it'd be pointless to pack more than the bare essentials to take with them.

Besides, with three of their number staying behind in the cottage (and hopefully the rest of them coming back for good once this was over...), it made sense to leave the majority of their supplies here. Gou must be a good hunter, but Makoto didn't want to see Kisumi or Noriko go without if it could be avoided.

Once they'd packed, all that remained was to keep watch over the van until they were ready to leave. They all knew that setting out while it was light would be best and yet none of them were eager to be on the road again. The mountains were relatively safe. In a weird way, they were the best place for Hayato to be. Once they got through the other side of the mountains and carried on towards Tokyo there'd be plenty more risks...

Right now, Makoto was avoiding dealing with most of the others by helping Gou chop down a tree, so there'd be a good supply of wood at the cottage after they'd left. The two of them had gone out slightly further than Makoto usually would to fell trees, but that was because he didn't feel up to talking to the others after last night. Particularly Chiyo, though he'd heard that Chiyo was currently on guard duty up at the van, so that shouldn't be a problem.

The tree toppled to the ground with a heavy thud, avoiding too much damage as it did. The forest was tightly packed, so a clean fall was rare unless they were cutting down trees around the clearing by the cottage, which they weren't right now. So Makoto didn't pay too much mind that the tree hit against one other before it reached the ground. The wood would be fine.

“So are we hauling it back like this?” Gou asked.

“We could do...” replied Makoto. He let that sentence hang in the air as he realised that he had no grounds to object to the suggestion on. It was the most sensible course of action.

“...But you want to talk?” Gou guessed. Even after so many years, she was still as sharp as ever.

“Yeah, I guess I... kind of do,” Makoto admitted, “It seems rude, but I just have a few questions.”

“About Chiyo,” said Gou. She didn't phrase it as a question.

“Would it be out of place to ask after last night? I feel terrible about snapping like that. I don't even know where that came from,” said Makoto.

“No, it's fine. Chiyo is a stranger to you and it's not like we're going to hurt his feelings by talking about him together while he's up at the van,” Gou replied, “So what do you want to know?”

Now that he was put on the spot, Makoto wasn't entirely sure.

“He must be a good person if you've been friends with him for so long, I don't doubt that,” he said, “And Kisumi seems close to him as well. But maybe that's the problem... Look, I don't want to assume anything, but just how close were they back then?”

“You're asking about before I even met him,” reminded Gou, “Lucky for you, I do know the answer. We'd sometimes talk about it... life before the outbreak. It felt like a different world, but talking about it reminded us that we were human. Chiyo's lived in Sano his whole life, but I didn't meet him while I was there. We both knew Kisumi, but that was still a pretty distant connection. I loved hanging around with Rin and the others when we were all kids, but after Rin left for Australia, Sousuke grew distant for a long time and Kisumi kind of disappeared off my radar as well. We just didn't see much of each other after that. I gather that he made friends with Chiyo and Hibiki sometime after we all went our separate ways.”

“There were some photos in the barn of them all together. Mostly at parties or clubs from the looks of it,” said Makoto, “But it felt like that was just one window into their lives and there's a whole lot I don't know.”

“That's just the kind of people they were,” Gou dismissed, “Well, Chiyo and Kisumi were. Hibiki never seemed like the party type. He mostly just stayed in the barn and wouldn't even come out raiding unless he absolutely had to. Some people didn't take life after the outbreak very well. Most people didn't, I guess...”

“It's a shame that I didn't get to meet him before he... ah, before the zombies got him,” said Makoto.

“Eh, you probably wouldn't have liked him anyway, if I'm honest. His heart was in the right place, but he was snappy and difficult most of the time. Chiyo said he was only even in Japan for a university placement and he never got over not being able to go back to his family in America,” said Gou, “But it wasn't Hibiki you were asking about, was it?”

“No, I... mostly just want to know about Chiyo and Kisumi,” Makoto said, “I trust them, but...”

“You're worried about Haru,” Gou replied, with a smirk, “Some things never change. Well, this will either put you out of your misery or make your worries worse, because I can tell you now that they weren't dating. The two of them had an on-off thing going on after high school, but they never committed to anything serious. That's what Chiyo told me.”

“But there were... feelings there?” Makoto pressed.

Gou sighed. And Makoto could tell that she was debating with herself whether giving him the answer was a good idea or not. He didn't blame her for that, but he wanted to know the truth. If not for peace of mind, then at least so he could go forward armed with knowledge, instead of making baseless assumptions.

Eventually, Gou nodded.

“...Chiyo once said that there were times when he felt like he might have been in love with Kisumi. But that was a long time ago. They've both lived pretty much a whole life away from each other since the infection hit,” said Gou. She picked up on Makoto's unease right away though and added, “Besides, he seems respectful enough of Kisumi and Haru's relationship. Heck, Haru seems to get along with him quite well from what I've seen.”

“He does...” Makoto agreed, “Which makes me feel even worse for getting worked up about it when Haru isn't.”

“You're allowed to worry, Makoto. But maybe you should just do what Haru's doing and try talking to Chiyo more,” Gou suggested, “Hopefully that'll show you that everything is fine.”

“You're probably right,” said Makoto, “After we get this tree back to the cottage I'll head up there to take him off duty from watching the van and maybe we'll talk for a while then.”

Besides, once they'd set out for Tokyo, Makoto would have plenty more chances to talk to Chiyo. All because Makoto had insisted that Chiyo wasn't going to stay here at the cottage...

“That sounds like a plan,” Gou replied, “But for now, we might as well get this thing back before they start wondering where we are.”

With that, the two of them set to work dragging the tree to the cottage. Gou had gotten so strong over the years. Makoto was definitely in awe of how she held her own with helping him carry the tree back, though he'd probably get in trouble for saying so. Of everyone Makoto knew, Gou had always been the most headstrong. It was a Matsuoka trait. He wasn't surprised to find out that she'd thrived in the post-outbreak world. And he knew that Kisumi and Noriko would be in good hands with her.

Once they got back, Makoto let the others know he was heading up to the van. Sousuke was waiting there, ready to chop the tree up for firewood, while Kisumi helped Noriko air out some of the blankets. As he looked around, Makoto saw Hayato sitting on the edge of the porch, avoiding talking to anyone. Hayato was another person who Makoto should probably talk to, but not right now. For now he had something else on his mind.

So Makoto set out, hiking up the hill and towards the road. As he drew closer, he heard voices and knew that Chiyo wasn't the only person up there. From the rattly sound of the other voice, it could only be Haru. Despite himself, Makoto slowed his pace down as he listened to them talk.

“I can't imagine how you'd even tell words apart with so many similar colours. Don't all those blues, greens and purples blend into each other?” Chiyo was saying.

“...It w-worksss... f-f-for meee...” Haru replied, “...A r-raainboww of colouursss... wo-oould giivee me a... heead...acheee...”

“It must just be different for everyone, I guess,” said Chiyo, “Do you have any strikingly different colours though? Anything that stands out so much from the rest?”

“...A f-feeew lettersss aree... r-red... and th-that ssstaa-ands out... a lot...” Haru said, “...Th-then theeere's... Kisuumiii... Heh... Kisssumi is... def...initely p-pinkk...”

“Yeah. Kisumi is definitely pink,” Chiyo agreed.

The two of them fell into companionable silence after that. Makoto assumed they had been talking about synaesthesia, which... wasn't something that Makoto understood. He'd tried, after Hayato had explained what it was and that Haru seemed to have it. But to Makoto, letters and numbers were just letters and numbers. He couldn't get his head around where the colours came into it.

Regardless, he could tell that there was no jealousy between Haru and Chiyo. Or if there was, it was hidden deep down. The two of them seemed to just be trying to get to know each other. Perhaps if Chiyo did love Kisumi back then, he now wanted to be friends with the person who Kisumi wanted to be with. Makoto could only hope that was the case.

He also knew that it'd be wrong to eavesdrop on them any more than he already had done. It was probably wrong to have done it at all. Yet as Makoto made his way out onto the road and waved across at them, the response he got was a pleasant one. Chiyo waved back and Haru nodded in his usual manner.

“Just thought I'd relieve you of guard duty, in case you're bored,” Makoto said, as he went over to them.

“We have been up here for a while,” replied Chiyo. He got up from where he'd been sat and stretched, before adding, “Do you think we'll be ready to head off soon?”

“I hope we are before the end of today, but no one seems keen to rush off,” said Makoto.

“...M-miiight as... w-weell lee-eave it... f-foor to-oomorrooow nooow...” Haru suggested, “...B-bessst t-to geeet an... earlyyy s-starrrt...”

“Yeah, no point in heading out just to stop for the night only a few hours into the drive,” said Chiyo, “I'll bring that up when I get back to the cottage. You coming with me, Haru?”

“...Nooo... I w-waant to... s-staaay with M-makotooo... fooor a w-whileee...” Haru answered.

“All right, I guess I'll see you guys later then,” said Chiyo, “If you're not back before dinner then I'll bring something up.”

He had to be referring to just Makoto there, because Haru very clearly caught his own dinner when he wanted any. So Makoto nodded in thanks and then the two of them waved Chiyo off. They watched until he was out of sight. Haru could tell that Makoto had something to say, so he waited until Makoto was ready.

“I feel bad about last night,” said Makoto.

“...He d-diiidn't... meentiiion... it...” Haru replied, “...Y-yoouuu sh-shouuuldn't... worry soo much...”

Makoto snorted; “Haru, you of all people know that I'll never stop doing that.”

A long pause. Makoto wondered if Haru would insist that he lets everything with Chiyo drop. If Makoto was in Haru's position, then he'd probably tell himself to let it drop as well. Though when Haru next spoke, it wasn't what Makoto expected to hear.

“...Th-thaank yoou... f-for worrry...ingg... aboout meee...” Haru said, turning to look at Makoto with his ever unreadable eye, “...A-aboout mee a-andd... Kisssumiii...”

Makoto hesitated. It seemed like an awkward thing to say 'you're welcome' about. Especially since Makoto felt bad about worrying so much over this in the first place.

“Neither of you need me to do that on your behalves, but I'm glad that you know I just want you to be safe together,” he said.

Haru nodded; “...I a-alwayss do k-knoww... wiiith yoou...”

That was all he needed to say. Even though the problem was far from solved and Makoto still felt uneasy about Chiyo, he felt better for knowing that Haru believed his concerns were for the right reason. They would set out tomorrow as friends, even if they might not agree with each other, and that was what mattered. Makoto just hoped that in time he'd come to see that Haru and Gou were right about Chiyo.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the exception of those who are staying behind at the cottage, the group sets out to begin their journey to take Hayato to Tokyo. It's a a long drive on unfamiliar roads and as they travel, they get a preview of the kind of problems they're going to face.

When the next morning came around, they could no longer avoid setting out. Well, they probably could avoid it, but that wouldn't do them any good in the long run. Makoto told himself that the sooner they left, the sooner they could return. And he wanted to believe that they all would, even if the future was so uncertain. Hayato had been sparse on the details about what would be waiting for them with the researchers in Tokyo. He'd probably elaborate if more pressure was put on him, particularly from Sousuke, but up to now no one had asked. Makoto doubted it would stay that way for long.

The most important detail was getting Hayato safely to Tokyo.

Yet as Haru stood saying goodbye to Kisumi, Makoto couldn't stop himself from wondering what that would ultimately mean for him. Haru had made it clear that he wanted the cure to be put into effect, even knowing that it could one day kill him... They could only hope that they'd find some way around it, some kind of loophole, before that actually happened.

Everyone was up at the van today. Even Noriko had made the journey. Makoto hoped that it'd be the last long walk that she'd have to make on their account. But she'd wanted to see them off. They all wanted to do that.

“I wish there was some way we could keep in touch with you,” Kisumi said, as he pulled apart from embracing Haru.

“There's no phone lines that aren't controlled by the compound and it'd take too long to set something up, even if we could private them,” said Gou, “We'll just have to trust that you guys can manage.”

“...W-we alwaaayss... d-do...” assured Haru, with Sousuke nodding in agreement.

“I'm sure that your luck will last a while longer,” said Noriko, “Because if it doesn't, I'll have to walk to Tokyo to knock a few heads together and I'd rather not do that.”

“Mother, please...” Sousuke sighed. Then he walked over to her and hugged her tightly; “I promise we'll be fine. I promise I'll bring all of your boys safely home.”

“Just don't kill yourself trying to keep that promise,” Noriko warned.

“I'll make sure he doesn't,” said Makoto.

Then once Sousuke had let go of her, Makoto went in for a hug as well. He hugged each of them in turn – Noriko, Gou and Kisumi. They all gratefully hugged him back and Makoto felt glad for the reassurance, even if he wished that he wasn't leaving them here. They'd be fine. Gou could look after them.

Once Makoto had his turn, the others all said their farewells to each other too. Makoto had to step back, because he knew that he'd get overwhelmed with emotions if he watched all of that, especially with a few of them having to leave Gou again after only being with her for a short while. At least now they knew there was definitely a Gou to come back to. For years they'd had no idea she'd survived.

Hayato was of course an exception to the barrage of farewells. He only properly said goodbye to Kisumi and even that was more reluctant than usual. Kisumi hugged him tightly, but Hayato responded gingerly and then hurried off into the back of the van as soon as Kisumi had let go. Now that Makoto thought about it, he wasn't sure that Hayato had been apart from Kisumi for as long as he probably would be during this trip. Even back in the compound, when Hayato had holed himself away from them in the facility, he had the option to come back to Kisumi whenever he wanted. That wouldn't be the case here.

“I'll look after him,” Makoto promised Kisumi.

“Don't worry, I know that you will,” said Kisumi. Then he quietly added, “I think that being pulled up like he was the other day has given him a shock and maybe... maybe that's a good thing. He shouldn't have to be closed off forever. Once this is done, I hope that it takes a weight off his shoulders.”

“Yeah, I hope so, too...” Makoto said. Although it was hard to tell with Hayato.

“Let's get going,” called Sousuke. Because he hated long goodbyes.

So with a final round of farewells, Makoto and most of the others climbed into the back of the van. Only Chiyo was sitting up front, as the one member of their group who wasn't an escapee from the compound and wouldn't attract as much attention if they passed others. It probably looked like he was a smuggler, driving this van all by himself, but Makoto doubted he'd be the only one of those out on the road. Hopefully they'd just look as suspicious as everyone else already did anyway.

“They're waving us off,” Chiyo said, with a look in the side mirror. He stuck his arm out of the window and waved back to them until they disappeared around a corner. And although Makoto couldn't see Noriko, Gou and Kisumi, he could feel their fond farewell in his heart. He'd miss all of them.

But now they were gone. The cottage and the three people left with it had to be put behind them. What was left was a determined band of travellers and the uncertain road ahead of them.

“Have you ever been this way before?” Sousuke called forward to Chiyo.

“Not this far since the outbreak and not by road, even before that,” Chiyo admitted, “But I know we've got a lot of mountain ahead of us. Be prepared for a long, boring drive. If we're lucky.”

That was a sentiment Makoto could agree with. He'd rather have an uneventful drive than encounter any problems.

“What about you?” Sousuke asked Hayato, “Sounds like you know a bit about Tokyo.”

Hayato looked up at him. His face was mostly covered by a hood, which was a stark constant to Hayato's preferred choice of sensible lab coats from back when he'd worked in the facility. The hoodie had belonged to Chiyo's late friend, Hibiki. It had 'Genji Main' splashed across it, which Makoto didn't understand the meaning of, but he assumed was a reference to some franchise. As long as it kept Hayato as hidden from the view of any bounty hunters as it needed to, Makoto didn't care what was on the hoodie.

“I did go sometimes, via helicopter, of course. But I'm not an expert,” Hayato said.

“...M-morrreee an exp-pert thaaannn... a-anyy of usss...” said Haru.

“I guess...” Hayato said. It was clear that he wasn't getting out of this now, so he carried on; “Tokyo is an even bigger mess than anything any of you have seen. More people means more zombies. The cities fell faster. It's just a sprawling hub of them, but that makes it the perfect place for researchers. Like I said before, it's far enough away from the compound that the researchers there have more free reign to get away with doing what they like.”

“I'm surprised you never went there then,” Sousuke commented.

“Very funny. But honestly? If I wasn't trying to find answers about reformed zombies like Haru, then I might've done,” said Hayato, “The facility at the compound was the only place that would house my line of research and even then, they did so reluctantly.”

“So we're going to a bunch of scientists who basically do what they want. How can we be sure they'll do what we want?” Sousuke said.

“Because I'll be giving the cure to them specifically,” said Hayato, “That'll give them an edge over the compound that they've never had before. We take advantage of the fact that, deep down, these people are greedy and they want power.”

“That... doesn't make it sound any more like we can trust them,” Chiyo commented, with a glance in the rear view mirror.

“We can trust them more than the compound. At least we don't know for sure if they'll kill us, whereas the compound would probably shoot all of you and then do the same to me once they've gotten the cure. They don't like liabilities,” said Hayato.

“So the Tokyo researchers are the lesser of two evils. I can live with that for now,” said Sousuke.

“And remember, I have friends there,” said Hayato, “Many of those researchers are people who I studied with when I was younger. I... used to be popular back in the facility.”

It was impossible to ignore the melancholy of Hayato's voice. Even if Hayato felt bad about it, there must have been part of him that missed what his life was like before the others came along and it all got a lot more complicated.

“Well now you get to be alive in the real world. Lucky you,” Sousuke replied, unsympathetically. Makoto nudged his arm, but it didn't do anything to deter him.

After that, the group lapsed into silence and let themselves be taken across the mountain road. It was indeed a long journey, with only the rocking of the van and the occasional murmur from each other for background noise. Chiyo told them that he'd speak up if he saw anything, but he didn't say a word, so Makoto assumed that he hadn't seen anything.

They must have been driving for four or five hours before anything different happened. They'd entered a tunnel, far from the first one they'd been through today, and suddenly Haru stood up.

“Haru?” Makoto prompted.

When he looked up, he saw that Haru's single remaining eye was unfocused. He wasn't looking at Makoto, at least not yet.

“What's wrong with him?” Chiyo asked. He'd never experienced this. But he would do now.

“Zombies,” Sousuke stated, “Speed up if you can.”

That was all the explanation he had time to give. Sousuke shot up to his feet and grabbed Haru to restrain him. Despite himself, Haru started to struggle. There must have been a lot of them for him to lose control so badly. Makoto joined Sousuke a moment later, taking a rag out of his pocket that he forced around Haru's mouth. He hated himself for doing this, but Haru had to be stopped from biting anyone.

And sure enough, as Chiyo drove further through the tunnel, a wave of zombies became visible in the headlights of the van. More of them than Makoto had seen up close for a while. They came at the van as if it was the only thing to pass through this tunnel all day, which it probably was. But people did come through here, like the two women who they'd encountered a couple of days ago. It wasn't impossible to drive through the tunnel. They just couldn't stop if they wanted to make it out.

Chiyo floored it and the van sped ahead, knocking into several zombies as it went, but neither the van nor the zombies let that deter them. Makoto got a good look at some of them as they bounced off the wind shield. They were mostly all battered from years of doing this, some of them were even missing limbs. To the zombies, this was usual.

But it wouldn't be usual to their group. They'd keep driving. They'd keep being safe.

Makoto and Sousuke held on tightly to Haru, despite both his thrashing about and the movement of the van knocking them from side to side. It felt like the longest few minutes of Makoto's life, but eventually they saw light at the end of the tunnel. Literally.

The van burst out of the other side and onward through another swarm of waiting zombies. They were driving fast, but Makoto caught sight of what looked like an old service station and a hotel on the side of the road, along with several diners. It must have been a resort at one point, probably for hot springs. But now it was just a hive of unlucky zombies, waiting to ambush any travellers who came through.

Chiyo didn't slow the van until they were a good distance away from any immediate danger, but Makoto was glad when he did. The mountain roads were treacherous, it wouldn't do to be speeding along them for long.

They knew that they were safe now, because Haru slumped. His senses had returned to him and even though his expression didn't change, Makoto could feel the shame radiating off him.

“You can't help it...” Makoto soothed, lowering the rag from Haru's mouth.

“...Bessst... l-leaaave th-that onnn...” Haru said, looking down at the floor, “...Tooo m-muchhh... rii-iisk... on th-theesssee unk-knownnn rooadsss...”

“You're not a monster, Haru,” Makoto insisted.

“But he's also not wrong,” Chiyo said from up front. Makoto turned to glare at him, so Chiyo went on to add, “It's dehumanising, yeah, and we wouldn't do it if we didn't have to, but he is a risk. I'm sorry.”

“As we get closer to Tokyo there'll only be more zombies,” Hayato agreed.

So with a heavy heart, Makoto passed the rag to Haru and watched as Haru tied it across his own mouth. With anyone else, it'd be a worry that they'd be able to breathe, but that wasn't a problem for Haru.

Now that was sorted, they all sunk back to the floor.

“Does the van look okay?” Sousuke asked, probably to stop them dwelling on this too much.

“I think so,” Chiyo replied, “The compound build their vehicles to handle zombie impact, but it wouldn't hurt to check it over once we stop for the night.”

Makoto hadn't even considered stopping for the night, but he supposed that there was no way they'd get to Tokyo in one day. As he stared out ahead he saw that the blue of the sky was already fading into a light purple. At one point a sky like that might have looked pretty, but Makoto wasn't feeling it right now. He looked across at Haru, wearing a muzzle of his own choice, then at Hayato, keeping as much distance from all of them as he could in the cramped van, and then finally Makoto rested his head on Sousuke's shoulder. He willed the rocking motion of the van to lull him off to sleep, just so he could forget about all of this for a short while. But sleep didn't come to Makoto this time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the second day of their journey the group starts to move away from the mountains. But with that brings new risks. Makoto and Sousuke briefly leave the others to scout ahead.

They had stopped for the night in a bypass along the mountain trail, but the next morning found them out on the road again. As Chiyo had predicted, the van hadn't taken any major damage from the impact of the zombies that had attacked them in the tunnel yesterday. Chiyo and Sousuke had done a thorough check, but at the end of the day, as long as the van could still move, it was good for what they'd needed it for.

Makoto knew that in the pre-outbreak world, this drive wouldn't have taken nearly as long as it was taking now, but they had to be cautious and that meant not always sticking to direct routes. Once they'd gotten off the mountain trail, they'd definitely have to be more careful about that.

“If we could go on the main road, then we'd be in Tokyo before the end of today,” said Hayato, as the rocks around them started to thin out, signifying that there wasn't much more mountain left.

“We'll have to turn off eventually, but I'll still aim to get us there before sundown if I can,” Chiyo said. And Makoto wasn't sure if he felt better or worse to hear that.

“Okay, so best case scenario, we get into Tokyo without any trouble on the road,” said Sousuke, “What happens then?”

“Unfortunately there'll be a lot of city to trek across to reach their base,” Hayato replied, “There's no doubt that they'll let me in, but we'll have to pass through widely infected areas...” As he trailed off, Hayato gave a pointed look in Haru's direction. Haru didn't seem to react at all.

“We can restrain him between us,” insisted Sousuke. There was a chance that they'd have to leave Haru outside of Tokyo, but none of them wanted to suggest that option just yet.

It wasn't long after this when they could say with certainty they'd left the mountains behind them entirely. Chiyo drove for about ten minutes more, before pulling the van to a halt behind the cover of a larger rock.

“Something up?” Sousuke asked.

“Yeah, there's a warning up ahead,” Chiyo said. He gestured towards a defaced road sign, which had a red tick spray-painted across it; “That means there's a compound group in the area. My guess would be some kind of tollbooth. We drive up to that in one of their vans and they won't be happy to see us.”

“Guess we'll have to go out and have a look then,” said Sousuke, climbing to his feet, “Been wanting to stretch my legs after sitting so long anyway. Makoto, want to come with me?”

“Sure,” Makoto replied, “Will you all be okay without us for a while?”

“I'll watch them,” promised Chiyo, when neither Haru nor Hayato made a response, “Anything happens then- ...well, hopefully nothing will happen. But I'm sure I'll be able to handle it.”

“We're counting on you,” said Makoto, “And... take care, everyone.”

They had no way to contact each other, not even any flare guns. Though Makoto supposed those would attract more unwanted attention anyway, if there was a compound camp around here somewhere. All they could do was trust each other as the group split up.

Makoto and Sousuke headed out of the van, shutting the door behind them as quietly as they could. Though the immediate sight that greeted them suggested that they were the only people around, at least here. It was just countryside, rocks and trees. But then you could hide easily enough in those. Both of them knew that from all the years they'd spent hunting.

The two of them headed off from the van, looking closely at everything they could see and hopefully managing to check the whole radius between both their sets of eyes.

“A sign like that's pretty vague,” said Sousuke, “It could mean those guys are around the corner or they could be another two miles away.”

“If that's the case, then we'll just have to drive a little at a time and keep getting out to check,” Makoto replied, “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, I agree with that,” said Sousuke.

They must've walked for a good twenty minutes before they actually saw something of note. Smoke coming over a hill. Just like in a movie. The two of them scrambled up to the top and, sure enough, there was a camp further down, with figures aimlessly wandering around. The main road ran right through the camp, which gave them their answer.

“At least we know we can't drive this way,” said Sousuke, “Now let's head back to the others before anyone spots us.”

With that, they shimmied back down the hill, leaving with more purpose now that they knew they weren't alone.

“Do you think they get many people passing through?” Makoto asked.

“Doubt it. They must just be there to police the raiders. Make sure they don't get too big for their boots,” said Sousuke.

“I can only imagine how they'd react if a van carrying Hayato fell into their laps...” Makoto mumbled.

“Like all of their Christmases had come at one, I bet,” said Sousuke, “We can only hope that because these guys aren't used to conflict, they won't be too difficult to deal with if we do run into them. Tokyo will be the hard part. Hayato says those guys have more freedom from the compound, but considering how many zombies they have to deal with on a daily basis, they won't be pushovers.”

“Hopefully they'll be on our side,” Makoto replied.

But even if neither of them would say it, the uncertainty of that assumption hung in the air. The Tokyo scientists might be more merciful than the compound and if they wanted the cure, they'd keep Hayato alive. But that didn't guarantee what they'd do with the rest of them, especially Haru.

They managed to get back slightly quicker than they'd headed out. Yet it turned out not to be quick enough.

“You hear that?” Sousuke whispered.

Unfamiliar voices.

He flattened himself against a tree and Makoto copied his example. The two of them edged closer to where they knew the van was waiting, only to find the sight that greeted them there was the last thing that either of them wanted to see.

There were two guards from the compound camp approaching the van. And they were armed. Makoto's breath hitched.

“We have to-”

Before Makoto could say what they had to do, the driver side door of the van fell open. But it wasn't Chiyo who came out. It was Haru, who dropped to the floor as if he'd been attacked and then rolled a few times before stopping. He looked hurt.

Had... Chiyo attacked him while they were gone? And what had happened to Hayato?

Makoto's heart was racing now. Sousuke grabbed onto his arm for reassurance and that was the only thing that stopped Makoto from bolting over there and potentially getting shot.

“The fuck's a zombie doing in a van?” he heard one of the guards ask.

“Probably got infected on the way,” his companion replied.

“Nah mate, look at it! That zombie's old. Been like that a long time.”

“Hey... what's that across it's mouth? Looks like it's been muzzled.”

The two of them cautiously approached, guns raised, but Haru stayed down, not moving a muscle. Makoto couldn't tell how badly he was injured from where they were standing. One of the guards kicked him and Haru rolled over.

“It's gone. Let's just put a couple of shots through it's skull to make sur-”

That was when Chiyo launched himself out of the van, like a huge gorilla, knocking one of the guards to the ground and wrestling gun off him. The other guard would have responded quicker, but in the same moment, Haru suddenly made it clear that he wasn't a regular zombie. He sprung to his feet, ripped the gag off his mouth and went for her.

There were several gunshots, but none through anywhere that would cause Haru any permanent harm. As long as they didn't get him through his head and he managed to keep all of his limbs, he'd be fine.

The two guards struggled, but they were clearly unprepared for combat and went down quickly at the hands of Haru and Chiyo. Once they'd been disarmed and knocked out, a shaky Hayato climbed from the van and tied them up.

“Can we just... leave them like this?” Hayato checked, “Someone will find them...”

“By that time, we'll be long gone,” said Chiyo, “And we have two more guns with us for the road, so nothing to complain about there.” He turned to look at Haru with a grin; “You and me make a pretty good team, you know?”

“...I g-guessss... we d-dooo...” Haru replied.

Makoto wasn't sure how he felt about that. But Sousuke and him had stayed hidden for far too long. They probably should have come out sooner, but it looked like they would have risked jeopardising Haru and Chiyo's plan if they had done. Regardless, the danger was gone now, so Makoto pulled himself away from the tree he'd been pressed against and marched over. Behind him, Sousuke gave a low chuckle, as if Makoto was doing something funny. That only annoyed Makoto further right now.

“Hey!” Makoto called across, “You were right, there's a compound camp further along the main road. Must be where these two came from.”

“Good job taking them out,” Sousuke added.

“...A-all... in a d-daaays... w-wo-ork...” said Haru.

And then, as much as it hurt Makoto to watch, Haru took the gag and tied it back around his mouth again. Makoto hated this. He knew that they could trust Haru... But Haru was right that the risk he presented if they ran into other zombies was just too high.

“We'd better get moving before anyone else comes,” Makoto said, with a heavy heart.

It was doubtful that there'd be many more people patrolling the immediate area than these untrained guards, but it never hurt to be cautious. So the five of them climbed back into the van and headed off as quickly as they could. The two guards were left in a pile behind them.

As Makoto sat down in the back, he saw footprints on the back of the chair from where Haru must have climbed over to enact falling out of the driver's seat. They... had done a good job with a plan they'd come up with on the spot...

“I hope we don't have to split up like that again...” Makoto mumbled.

“Sticking together is best,” agreed Sousuke. And despite his earlier amusement at Makoto's irritation, Sousuke now put his arm around his shoulder for comfort. Makoto slumped against him.

“Looks like there might be a few smaller roads leading off from the one we're on,” Chiyo called, as the van rattled along, “But I'm not ruling out that we might have to go off road for a while. If it gets too bad later on, then we could end up ditching the van altogether.”

“I hope it doesn't come to that,” said Makoto, “We know that it won't get us back, but it'd nice to be able to get through Tokyo with something that can protect us from the zombies. And from any compound guards.”

“We don't have to worry about the guards in Tokyo,” Hayato insisted.

“I'll believe that when I see it,” retorted Sousuke. Perhaps he was being stubborn, but years of pessimism was what had kept him alive.

Either way, Makoto felt that keeping the van would be their best option. If they had the van, then they'd have somewhere that they could tie Haru down once his zombie urges took over him. That'd be a lot harder to manage if they were going on foot.

None of them debated Tokyo any further for now, but as the van rattled along, Makoto counted the minutes in his head. Eventually he deemed that each time had passed that they must have gotten past where the compound camp was by taking an alternate route. No one had disturbed them, so they'd made it for now.

Undoubtedly those two guards would tell others about them when they were found. But hopefully they didn't know for sure who they'd been dealing with. After all, Hayato had kept his hood on and Chiyo wasn't known for being part of their group, at least not yet.

But then there was Haru... They couldn't get around that Haru was particularly striking as far as zombies went. Maybe... maybe the guards would think they'd imagined Haru moved with purpose. Makoto could only hope that the guards' existing knowledge of zombies would rule out what they'd seen as being an exaggeration. A trick of the eye. It was a weak hope, but it was the only one that he had for now.

The van rattled on. Another day turned to night. And they edged ever closer to Tokyo on the winding, indirect path that their journey took them...


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the group reaches Tokyo, they need to proceed with caution. But Hayato's recklessness might cost them, as he becomes determined to prove to Sousuke that he's right about the guards being on their side.

It was the morning of the third day into their trip when they finally got a good view of Tokyo city. Three days. Before the infection, Makoto had heard that the journey from Iwatobi to Tokyo could be made in about eight hours by road and they weren't even coming from as far away as Iwatobi. Eight hours on the road was long enough, but three days...?

They'd had to be cautious. That was the biggest and most important reason it had taken so long. There'd been a few times when they'd made progress down one road, only to have to double back to avoid being seen, which had cost them even more time. As well as that, they'd had to drive off road a few times. Even right now, they weren't approaching Tokyo via the beaten track. The van looked worse for the wear, but at least it had served them for most of the journey. If it could get them into Tokyo as well, then Makoto would be glad, but he wasn't sure he could put money on that.

“We'll have to get back onto the road if we want to get into the city with the van,” Chiyo said, as the van lurched along at a snail's pace.

“All the roads in will be guarded,” said Sousuke. They'd driven around enough tollbooths on the way here to know that was a safe guess.

“But these guards are on our side,” Hayato argued.

“No, the scientists are on our side. Possibly. We know even less about if the guards will be,” Sousuke replied, “They'll probably answer to whoever's paying them and if they find you when searching the van, then they'll give you to the highest bidder.”

“What do you suggest then?” Hayato asked.

“We could always go on foot. Find some way to sneak in off the roads,” Chiyo suggested, “The train lines have been down for years, so I bet people use those to get in.”

“What about Haru though?” Makoto said, “We can't just leave him behind.”

Haru looked up at Makoto, but didn't take his gag off to debate one way or the other. They'd ran into plenty of zombie hordes on the way here and Haru's ability to sense them had been useful, but it had taken a toll on him. Makoto didn't want to subject him to the mass amount of zombies waiting for them in Tokyo, but he also didn't want to ditch him here, where anyone could find him. And, as harsh as it was to think this way, they couldn't afford to leave anyone behind to watch over him. Hayato needed as much muscle guarding him as they could provide.

If only Haru would make it clear what he wanted... But Makoto suspected that Haru didn't even know that himself right now. He'd go along with whatever they suggested for him.

“Let's... drive as close as we can off the roads,” Sousuke said, clearly thinking a plan through as he was saying it, “Then once we get close enough, we can leave the van and go the rest of the way on foot. We have rope and other means to restrain Haru. Even if he gets bad... well, as long as you're there, Makoto, it should be all right.”

Haru nodded in agreement.

Honestly, it had been so long that Makoto had almost forgotten... The whole reason that Haru was still with them in the first place was because he had followed Makoto out of Iwatobi when the infection broke out. Even when Haru had been at his worst, even before his senses had fully come back to him, he seemed content in following Makoto. And he'd only attacked other zombies to protect them...

They couldn't be sure if that'd remain the case with so many other zombies around, but it was the only chance they had.

“Fine. If we tie Haru up, then I'll hold the rope and he should stick with me,” agreed Makoto, “Right... Haru?”

Another nod. That was the best answer Haru could give right now, but it was enough for Makoto.

With that settled, they drove the van further, until the route got too rocky for it to manage. The mountain range surrounding Tokyo had provided them cover before now, but in this, it was their downfall. Chiyo gave one last, fruitless attempt to get the van moving over a particularly sharp bump, but the wheels shuddered noisily and threatened to give out.

The van was done.

“At least it might still be here on the way out?” Makoto suggested.

“If we even come back this way. I'm not ruling out that we'll be running for our lives when we leave,” said Sousuke.

“The scientists will help us,” Hayato maintained, he teeth gritted as he said it, “They have helicopters there. If we're lucky, they might be able to get us all the way back to the cottage once they're done.”

“Oh joy. Good to know they have an easy means to follow us when we're trying to escape from them,” Sousuke countered. Then, before Hayato could get in another reply, he added, “Anyway, that's it for the van, so lets file out and carry on by foot. We'll take the keys with us just in case we can come back.”

Even if it meant losing the van's protection, Makoto was quietly glad to be able to stretch his legs again. After three days of nothing but mountains and country roads, he could do with a change of scenery. Which he'd get soon enough...

Tokyo was a stark contrast to where they'd come from. Before the outbreak, it had been at the forefront of the technological world. But it had fallen hard and fast. What was left waiting for them was a sprawling wasteland of buildings and zombies. On the bright side, at least there was too much Tokyo for every route they could use to sneak in through to be properly guarded. The roads were out of the question, but they had other options.

Makoto tied a rope around Haru's wrists, which Haru held out for him. It was... painful to have to do, but when Makoto pulled the rope tight, Haru nodded with approval. The sense of nearby zombies had already set Haru on edge, which was clear from his shaking. The rope was for Haru's safety as much as anyone else's.

They stayed silent as they walked. Each footstep felt like it echoed too loud and Makoto kept turning his head about to make sure they weren't being watched. It seemed as if there weren't any humans around, not living ones anyway, but even on the outskirts of the city, the zombies were plentiful. Makoto could see them in the distance, though so far none of them got close enough to be a problem. If they did, then there'd be no option other than to shoot them and that would risk drawing attention. Either from guards or more zombies...

They walked in formation where they could. Sousuke and Chiyo were at the front, both standing a good distance apart on either side of their group and staying as alert as possible. Hayato was in the middle, as the precious cargo they were trying to protect, he kept his head down and his hood pulled low. Then a little way behind Hayato was Makoto, pulling Haru along with him to bring up the rear. For now, Haru was content to follow Makoto.

At least if they were seen, they had plenty of buildings that they could duck into. But in time, even that comfort was swiped away from them. They came to the Tama River. There was nowhere they could cross where they wouldn't be exposed, at least not as far as they could see.

“We could walk along the edge and see if there's a better option elsewhere?” Makoto suggested.

“I doubt it,” Hayato dismissed, “Down river leads to the docks, which will be guarded, and up river leads us back out of Tokyo. We have to take a chance and cross if we want to get to Shinjuku.”

Makoto wanted to suggest they took a break to discuss this further, but he knew in his heart that no matter how long they discussed it, they wouldn't reach an answer with any more insight than they had now. Besides, Haru was twitching about as he stood and it wasn't fair to subject him to this for longer than they needed to. Pressing on was their only answer.

There were several roads across the river, but like Chiyo suggested earlier, one of the abandoned train lines seemed like their best option. It was high up though, so if any of them fell off and down into the river, well... perhaps not even Haru could come back from that.

As they crept across, Makoto's heart was in his mouth. They stayed low, but there still wasn't anyone in sight. There weren't even any zombies up here, which must have come to the relief of Haru.

It took them a while to get over the river, but once they were on the other side, a road drew up almost level with the tracks to meet them. They had a means to jump off and run if they needed to.

And it turned out that they might have to take that option...

Guards ahead. The first ones that they'd seen up close since they arrived. They were patrolling along the width of the track further up and if their group got any closer, then they would be spotted.

“I can see a warehouse off to one side of the road, but we won't reach it before they see us...” Sousuke whispered.

They had no way to go back without retreating back onto the river either. Forward was their only option.

“Maybe we could wait until they change over?” said Makoto, “We might be here a while, but they're not expecting us, so they probably won't be on high alert.”

“For fuck's sake!” Hayato snapped. He suddenly drew himself up to his feet, much to everyone's surprise. Sousuke tried to grab his arm, but Hayato danced out of the way; “These guards are our friends! They could be helping us get to the scientists if we stopped hiding from them. Here, I'll show you!”

He darted away before any of them could stop him, waving his arms as he went.

That got the guards attention.

...They didn't respond in the way that Hayato wanted them to.

Makoto stared in horror as the guards raised their guns and then the next thing Makoto knew, his legs were moving before he could stop them. He pulled Haru along as he ran, but a stray shot from the guards snapped the rope that held them together. Right now Makoto didn't care. He couldn't stop to think. He had to save Hayato.

Hayato stood frozen in fear as the guards opened fire, but Makoto dived on him. Both of them crashed down and rolled off the tracks, down onto the side of the road where the warehouse was. They could reach it! They could get cover!

He scooped Hayato up into his arms and looked back up onto the tracks. Sousuke and Chiyo were both trying to follow them, with Haru standing in some sort of daze, but shots from the guards forced them away. Sousuke waved his arm at Makoto, to signify that he should take cover. Then Makoto saw him grab Haru and all of them disappeared down the opposite side of the tracks, with the guards giving chase after them.

They'd meet up again later. They had to. For now, it was more important that the guards didn't follow Hayato.

So as much as Makoto hated himself for leaving them, he hurried away, carrying Hayato into the shelter of the warehouse. Its door was hanging open, waiting for them to get inside. But they couldn't stop there. The guards would know that'd be the first place they would go. They had to keep moving. Makoto put Hayato down and urged him to follow.

“Come on! We find somewhere to take shelter for now, then we can meet up with them once this has all settled,” Makoto demanded.

“But... the guards...” Hayato mumbled.

“The others will be able to outrun them,” Makoto pressed. At least, he had to believe that, even if he knew that Haru might cause them some problems.

“...They shot at me...” Hayato carried on, turning to look at Makoto through unseeing eyes, “...At me...”

Neither of them were going anywhere until this was sorted. Makoto bent down slightly and put his hands firmly onto Hayato's shoulders, staring into his eyes.

“Hayato Shigino. You are not the next Jesus. No matter how much you think that you are,” Makoto said, “There are people out there putting their lives at risk to protect you, but those guards are not those people. Trust in me until we get to your scientists. Can you do that...?”

Hayato nodded weakly, his senses seeming to have returned to him.

“R-right... but... how will we find them again?” he asked.

Makoto smiled, a little more warmly now. He hated keeping up the bad cop act for longer than he needed to.

“We're all heading to the same place,” he said, “I'm sure we'll meet up with them in Shinjuku.”

He just wished that he could be sure how the other two would be able to look after Haru without him there. But they had to... Over the years Haru had gotten close to more than just Makoto. His friendship with Sousuke should keep him grounded in Makoto's absence. And as much as Makoto hated to admit it, Haru seemed to have developed some kind of bond with Chiyo as well, so hopefully that'd keep them all safe...

For now though, Makoto couldn't worry about that. Suddenly Makoto job was to get Hayato safely through Tokyo all on his own.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that they've been separated from the rest of the group, it's down to just Makoto to protect Hayato, as the two of them make their way through Tokyo and towards Shinjuku.

As much as Makoto hated himself for thinking it, travelling through Tokyo with just Hayato was easier than being with a larger group. It meant that they had less eyes to watch out for danger, yes, but on the other hand, they also had less people to watch out for in the first place. Yet that also made Makoto feel guilty, because somewhere out there, Sousuke and Chiyo were probably struggling with Haru. Makoto wasn't sure how Haru would react without him now that there were so many other zombies around...

And there certainly were a lot. The closer they got to Shijuku, the more dense the zombies became. Even ducking into buildings didn't always grant safety, as many of those had zombies lurking about inside them as well.

“You'd think the raiders would have cleared them out over the years...” Makoto muttered, as the two of them had darted through a back alley and up over a fence to avoid pursuit, “Guess there's just too many of them.”

“What you need to remember is that the scientists here run tests on the zombies. So they... like having a plentiful supply,” said Hayato, “I bet the guards have been ordered not to shoot them unless they have to.”

Those scientists that Hayato was taking them to... The whole thing was so morally questionable. Even without Sousuke's dogged distrust, Makoto could tell that. On one hand, you could argue that not killing more zombies than necessary was an act of mercy. But with the exception of rare cases like Haru, it seemed that there was no humanity left in the zombies themselves. If the compound and the scientists connected to it were trying to make Japan safe to be inhabited again someday, then surely getting rid of the zombies was on the agenda. That was what Hayato's cure implied.

The cure that... could kill Haru as well.

There was so much that just made Makoto sick to think about. He had to hold onto the optimism that everything could turn out all right, but the more doubt crept in, the harder it became to do that. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Hayato.

“Well, I'll shoot them if they try to hurt us, no matter what they want,” he said.

With that, the two of them carried on. Makoto could sense unease from Hayato as they walked, but that wasn't saying much. Hayato's whole existence seemed to be unease now and with good reason. Though in this case, it took only a few paces before Hayato revealed what was on his mind.

“If... if one of you had shot the guards, we might not all be separated right now...” he said.

“We don't kill if we can avoid it,” Makoto replied, not missing a beat.

“Yeah... It's kind of a wonder we've all lived so long with that kind of moral compass,” Hayato replied, “And Chiyo didn't shoot them either, so I guess he feels the same way.”

“I hope so. But he is a raider, so we should still be careful,” said Makoto. He knew that Chiyo hadn't killed those two guards who came upon them in the van either, but all the same, Makoto felt it was right to be cautious.

“Gou's a raider as well,” Hayato pointed out.

“Gou is different,” said Makoto.

“How is she different?” Hayato asked.

“Because... we've known Gou for a long time,” Makoto said.

“And my brother's known Chiyo for a long time, too,” Hayato insisted.

“All right. Look, can you just drop it? I'm sure that Chiyo's fine, but if the difference between life and death is being careful, then that's what I'm going to be,” replied Makoto, sharper than he'd intended to be.

They walked a few more feet. Hayato didn't let it lie.

“You're jealous of him, aren't you?” he asked.

“Why would I be jea-”

“Don't move or I'll shoot!”

...Shit. Guards.

Makoto grabbed Hayato's arm and pulled him in front of him, with the two of them diving into the nearest building. There was gunshot behind them, but Makoto managed to pull the door shut. They were in a small convenience store and several zombies were lurking about the aisles. Their heads turned at the sudden prospect of a free meal, but Makoto and Hayato were both faster. They ran for the back room, the locks on the door long since broken as raiders had presumably ransacked the place for supplies.

The door leading out the back of the shop was also hanging off it's hinges, so they headed out and through onto a different street. But they couldn't stop. The guards would be on their heels and the zombies wouldn't slow them down much either.

Makoto looked around. They had a choice now. There were so many buildings that they could pick one and hope they'd get lucky that the guards wouldn't pick the same one. So Makoto urged Hayato towards an abandoned cafe about half way down the street and ducked inside with him. The two of them stayed low to the floor and crawled behind the counter. They would have gone further, but they could now hear the guards yelling, as they left the shop that Makoto and Hayato had just come through and got out onto the street.

“You head that way and we'll try further up! They can't have gone far.”

It seemed as if two guards had been sent the same way that Makoto and Hayato had ran. As they got near to the cafe, their voices could be heard.

“Do you think it's the same lot who ambushed that couple of guards at the mountain pass yesterday?”

“I dunno. If they were headed for Tokyo, then they could be here by now. But the description of that group was that it was three people – a huge black guy, some kid in a hoodie and, heh, a zombie.”

“The kid was wearing a hoodie, but that weren't no zombie with him. It could be true what those mountain guards said about the zombie though, y'know? The reports from the compound said there was a zombie with those escapees.”

“Eh. The compound just says crap to scare ya. If it was possible to get a zombie to follow you around, then I'd have five of them all on leashes and it'd make patrolling for raiders a lot easier.”

“I guess you're right... Hey, should we be checking in these buildings?”

They were right outside the cafe. It'd be the first place they'd come inside. Next to Makoto, Hayato drew tightly into himself, which wouldn't help them if they needed to run.

There was a pause before the other guard spoke up again.

“I'll be honest with ya... what do you think will happen if we do find them?”

“They'll run and we'll try to stop them...?”

“Exactly. More work. This city is crawling with raiders as it is. Just 'cause one kid was wearing a hoodie, don't mean that he's the one they're looking for. Even if he is, we've both got good jobs out here. Good wages and the like. I'm not getting any ideas above my station. Let someone else have the glory. More power to 'em.”

“But if the chief finds out we've been slacking off-”

“The chief slacks off just as much. Make a show of pretending to look. It's a big city, so those raiders are probably long gone already.”

“I guess you're right...”

After that, their voices faded into a distant murmur as the two of them walked away from the cafe. But neither Makoto nor Hayato dared to move yet. They stayed there for a long time, not a word passing between them. Outside they could hear the sound of the guards, as they paced up and down for what seemed like hours, before finally silence came. Hopefully it signified that the guards had given up.

By the time the two of them came out from behind the counter, it was nightfall.

“Guess I should ditch this hoodie...” Hayato muttered.

He took it off and threw it down on the floor, leaving him in a t-shirt with picture of a red insect character on it. He wouldn't be very warm without it, but that was the least of their concerns. The larger matter was that Hayato would no longer be able to hide his face from guards. But even if he could, the guards were already aware of Hayato, Haru and Chiyo. Perhaps Makoto and Sousuke had been spared from being seen, but the overall description of the group of escapees included them both anyway. None of them were safe now.

“We've been reckless...” sighed Makoto.

“I think we've been as careful as we could,” Hayato said, “We spent three days just getting here and we were only seen once. It could have been a lot worse.”

“It could've been better as well though,” said Makoto.

They could be together as a group right now. They could never have had to leave the cottage in the first place. The cure could involve something that didn't put Haru's life in danger. But... if he went that far, he might as well be saying that there could have not been a zombie outbreak in the first place.

This was their lives... They were lucky to still have them at all. Luckier than many others. Makoto just wished it could be easier...

“That doesn't sound like you,” said Hayato.

“Hah... maybe this trip's finally breaking my spirit,” Makoto admitted. Maybe he shouldn't be saying such things to Hayato, but it wasn't as if Hayato was a kid any more.

“Just... hold out a bit longer, okay?” Hayato replied. It was clear from his face that comforting others didn't come naturally to him; “We're not far from Shinjuku now. I know exactly where we're going when we get there and they'll know my face. Maybe if we can get there first, they'll help us keep an eye out for the other three.”

“Let's hope so...” said Makoto.

It was all they had to go on right now. So the two of them headed back out onto the streets, the guards from before having long gone back to wherever it was that they called home. There were no lights from the buildings. Most of Tokyo sat in a darkness that would make spotting the zombies even harder as they progressed.

Part of Makoto wondered if he should suggest finding a safe place to stop for the night, because it'd be better to travel by the light of day. But he realised that he didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep going, because the sooner that they got to Shinjuku, the sooner this would all be over. So since Hayato didn't ask to stop either, the two of them pressed on.

All Makoto could hope was that the others were safe tonight as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Makoto and Hayato finally reach Shinjuku, they meet up with one of the scientists there and hope that the others will join them soon enough. But it turns out that Sousuke, Haru and Chiyo haven't had an easy ride of getting through Tokyo...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so... you know that post on tumblr about getting to the part of the fic that you secretly started writing it for? Well, this is the part of Leftovers specifically that I've been the most excited to get to, that's all I'm saying.

Were there always buildings like this in Shinjuku?

That was the question Makoto asked himself in the midst of running for his life. He had been to Tokyo before, back before the infection broke out. He was sure that he'd even been to Shinjuku before. Of course the entire city looked different to what it had done back then, but that was mostly down to the decay that you'd expect from abandonment after everyone had fled or been infected.

This was... something else.

This had been built.

All of the building, at least the new ones, had entrances that were raised off the ground. Below the doors were what looked like smooth sheets of metal that were impossible to scale, at least for a zombie. A human, perhaps one running for their life, could make it up with a strong jump and a lot of determination. Makoto hoped that he had enough of both, because getting up there was exactly where they needed to be.

In an area that so clearly had been developed after the outbreak, you'd expect that the zombies would have been cleared out. But by contrast, there were hundreds of them. They all milled about. Makoto and Hayato could barely run two feet without crashing into one. Which was far too dangerous. They were too much at risk.

“It's that one!” Hayato yelled.

He pointed to one of the buildings with the high doors that, to Makoto, looked the same as all the others. But Makoto trusted Hayato. Right now trust was their only option.

The two of them hurtled towards that building. They got close, despite all the zombies reaching out for them. Makoto fired a couple of shots, but it only bought them a few more seconds. At a time like this, Makoto suddenly wished that he did have a handgun instead of his trusty shotgun.

Hayato scrambled at the metal sheet that stopped them from getting to the ledge that the door was on, but he'd never make it up on his own. So Makoto crouched down to the ground.

“Climb on me! Don't argue, just do it!” Makoto demanded.

There wasn't time for hesitation. Even as Hayato stepped onto Makoto's back, more zombies came for them, climbing over the ones Makoto had shot. Makoto clutched onto his shotgun tightly. Any second... Any moment now...

The weight of Hayato disappeared from his back and Makoto heard Hayato pull himself up onto the ledge. He jumped back up to his feet and shot at the nearest zombies, before turning to look up.

“Grab onto my hands!” called Hayato, as he crouched down against the ledge.

“You won't be able to lift me,” said Makoto, “I can jump up if I get a running start!”

Which was easier said than done. Makoto moved away from the ledge, warding off zombies as he went. He couldn't afford too much distance, so he'd have to make do. When he turned back towards Hayato on the ledge, he wasn't sure if he could make it, but he charged forward and jumped all the same.

...He crashed into the metal, but he managed to get his arms up onto the ledge. From there, Hayato grabbed onto him and between the two of them, Makoto was pulled up.

They were panting with exhaustion, but they had made it.

“This is it... We're here...” Hayato mumbled, sounding as much in disbelief as Makoto felt.

Makoto nodded; “Y-yeah... Now we just need to get inside and let them know the others are-”

“Don't move! Put your gun down and your hands behind your heads!”

Even here, it turned out that they weren't safe. There was nowhere left for them to run. Makoto lowered his shotgun to the ground and then stepped away from it, moving off to the side. Both of them raised their hands up behind their heads as instructed. The door finished sliding all the way open (it looked like it had a compartment before the main door, probably to stop any zombies that might somehow get this far) and several guards rushed out, along with a scientist.

The guards answered to the scientist. That much was obvious.

“What should we do with them, sir?”

The scientist stared them down. He was young, about the same age as Hayato from the looks of it, perhaps slightly older. His face was stern, but that only lasted a second before he... broke out into a grin.

“Honestly? I kind of wanted you to scare them a bit more. Because no one deserves the shit scared outta them more than Hayato Shigino. But I'm not a cruel guy,” he said. Then he turned to Hayato; “So the rumours are true? We'd heard from the compound that you were on the run, but I didn't think you'd turn up on my doorstep.”

“It... wasn't an easy doorstep to get to,” Hayato replied, looking back down at the zombies beneath them.

“Yeah, a lovely lot, aren't they? Gotta keep a fresh supply to work with. Though our work isn't going nearly as well as what yours was before you took it all and ran,” said the scientist. Then he turned to look at Makoto and added, “So... going from the files we got, you must be Makoto Tachibana? I thought there was more escapees though.”

“We didn't all come. But there are three more of us out there in Tokyo somewhere. We got separated,” Makoto admitted, as it seemed like they could trust this scientist for now. He was the first friendly face they'd come across since they'd left the cottage.

“I see,” said the scientist, “Is one of them... Haruka Nanase?”

“Yes, Haru is with them,” said Makoto, “I don't know how well he'll hold up though...”

“In that case, I hope they reach us soon. I'll have the guards head out to look for them. But right now, let's get you both safely inside,” said the scientist, “The name's Dr. Whittle, by the way. Hayato and I studied together. It's been years though... he never comes to visit.”

“I make a point of avoiding my exs, Boney,” Hayato retorted.

“Ah yes... we've all heard about what you did to Daichi,” chuckled the scientist who was apparently known as Boney.

“Daichi...” Hayato mumbled, “Y-yeah. Let's just head inside and we can tell you about the rest of our group, so you know who you're looking out for.”

Hayato didn't want to talk about the pilot he'd convinced to help them escape from the compound. There'd been too much going on for Makoto to devote any thought to that guy either, but now that he'd been brought up, Makoto wondered what had happened to him. Had he been punished for helping them? Makoto hoped not... If the scientist was mentioning him so casually, then Makoto doubted that he'd been killed. Perhaps once they were all safely inside, they could ask him about it.

Makoto retrieved his shotgun from where he'd dropped it before. When nobody stopped him from doing so, they walked into the chamber and, like Makoto had guessed, there was a second door to get through before they got into the main building.

“The ones still out there are Haru, Sousuke and another man we met called Chiyo,” Makoto explained. Because he wanted them all to be found as soon as possible.

“Don't worry, we have information on all of you escapees. It shouldn't be hard to tell the guards what we're looking for,” assured Boney, “Would I be right in assuming that Chiyo was the one said to have attacked two guards at a mountain pass recently? I thought it was suspicious that he apparently had a zombie with him.”

“That's him,” Makoto said, “Word must travel fast.”

“Unlike the raiders, we have good communication lines,” Boney bragged, “Not much gets past us. But then... you got all the way here, so that implies our security is somewhat lacking.”

“You're lucky we are here. We've come to help you,” said Hayato.

“You? Help someone? I'll believe that when I see it,” said Boney, “But let's not waste time. I assume that you're here because of... the cure?”

This was it.

“...Yes. I'm here to recreate the program that'll emit the sound frequency to stop the zombies,” said Hayato, “It's by no means finished, but I'd rather have it's further development in your hands instead of the compound's.”

Boney reached across and patted Hayato on the back in a way that almost seemed condescending.

“I knew that we could count on you to make the right choice, Hayato. Once you're ready, we'll provide you with everything you need to recreate the program,” Boney said.

And suddenly Makoto remembered what Hayato had told Sousuke about these scientists earlier. That they wanted power. Makoto needed to be sure that they could still trust these people once they'd got what they wanted out of Hayato.

“What happens to us after you have the program?” Makoto checked.

“Well, whatever you want to happen to you,” said Boney, “Hayato is welcome to stay here and help us with-”

“...No. No, I won't stay,” Hayato cut in, “Once you've got what you need, all I ask is that you fly my friends and myself back to safety and don't tell the compound where we are.”

“Aww... that's so boring. I'd hoped you'd stay and have a bit of fun...” sighed Boney, “But very well. If Dr. Shigino wants an early retirement, then who am I to stop him? You have my word that I'll send all of you back home and the compound won't hear anything about it.”

“Thank you...” said Makoto.

He wasn't sure how far they could trust this man, but right now, he was their only option.

The two of them were shown through to what looked like a visitors lounge. There were smart-looking chairs and a coffee table that had magazines on it, almost like they'd just stepped into a hospital waiting room. After what they'd been through to get here, it felt unreal. Makoto wasn't even sure if magazines were still published any more, but as he glanced at the covers, they all seemed like they were aimed at scientists. The new world certainly was bizarre if in Tokyo raiders could be outside fighting for their lives against zombies and yet in here, scientists were flipping through magazines while sipping coffee...

And speaking of coffee, Boney offered them just that. Makoto hadn't even realised how hungry he was until the suggestion came up.

“You both must be starving. I'll have someone bring you something through in a moment,” Boney said, “I know Hayato takes his coffee black, but what about you, Mr. Tachibana?”

“Tea please, if you have any,” said Makoto, “Milk and two sugars.”

“That's fine,” said Boney, “Well, I'll see you both soon.”

He bowed to them and then headed for the door, but he didn't even get that far before a guard rushed in to get him.

“Sir! There's more men outside! We think it might be the rest of their group,” said the guard.

“That is fortunate timing,” Boney said, “If you two would like to wait here, we'll have them-”

...But Makoto was already up and away. There was no way he was leaving Sousuke and Haru to be dealt with by someone he'd not even known for five minutes. The others called after him, but didn't try to stop him and when he got back to the doors, he was able to head out with the guards.

Then... there they were. All three of them were down there, fighting for their lives against the zombies, like Makoto and Hayato had been just before. Makoto saw Sousuke and his heart leapt.

“Sousuke! Sousuke, we're here!” Makoto called.

He rushed over to the end of the ledge and waved his arms. They weren't too far away. They could all make it. Sousuke saw Makoto and must have thought the same thing. He barrelled through the zombies and jumped up for the ledge, clearing it in a way that Makoto hadn't quite managed. If the situation had been a better one, Makoto would have teased him for showing off, because neither of them were as young as they used to be, but right now he was elated to see Sousuke alive.

They wrapped their arms around each other and squeezed tightly. Here they were. Together again. But it wasn't over. Not yet.

“Haru's not held out,” Sousuke said, as they pulled apart, “He was managing as best he could until Shinjuku, but there's just too many zombies here. We've had to bait him into coming this far with us.”

“What have you been using to baiting him?” Makoto asked.

Sousuke turned to look back down at where Chiyo was trying to lead Haru through the throng of other zombies. And that was the answer. They'd been using themselves as bait. Haru's eye was unseeing. He followed Chiyo forward, like an animal headed for it's next meal. Whenever any other zombies tried to get close, Haru let out one of his inhuman bellows, the kind that Makoto hadn't heard from him for years. The other zombies backed away. They knew they were outmatched.

And despite all of his brawn, it looked like Chiyo was outmatched against Haru as well. At least, that was what it must have looked like to the guards.

“That one's too much, even for a zombie!”

“We need to save that man!”

As Makoto watched, one of the guards took aim directly at Haru.

“No! He's with us!” Makoto cried.

...The gun was fired.

Its shot flew through the air, faster than Makoto could see. And... and Chiyo moved. He grabbed Haru and threw him down to the ground, shielding him from the gunfire.

The bullet went into Chiyo.

He cried out in pain and rolled off Haru. But that too was a mistake. It didn't take Haru nearly as long to recover as it did Chiyo. In moments, Haru had pounced on Chiyo, sinking his teeth into Chiyo's arm. He had... bitten him.

It was too late now. The bullet would no longer kill Chiyo, but instead he would become a zombie. B-because Haru had lost control...

Makoto fell to his knees. It couldn't be possible! After all this time, all the years that they'd been able to stop Haru from giving into his zombie urges. Tokyo had been too much... They hadn't been able to protect Haru. Makoto hadn't been able to protect him...

The guard took aim again, but the scientist from before was on hand now and they listened to him.

“Don't fire! He's the zombie we're looking for!” Boney yelled.

Would it be too late now...? The other zombies were drawn back in now that Haru was distracted with trying to rip a chunk out of Chiyo's arm. Soon maybe they'd be upon Haru as well... What could they do? What could they do!

...But that was when Chiyo proved that, despite everything, he still had some life left in him. He pulled back, ignoring Haru's blood-curdling cry of protest, and took hold of Haru. He... he carried him all the way to the ledge, hunched over, probably from the bullet wound. Then he held Haru close and Makoto heard Chiyo speak to him.

“...You and Kisumi t-take care of each other, okay...? You'll... you'll both do fine...”

With that, Chiyo pulled his arm back and launched Haru up to the ledge. Sousuke was there to catch him, but Haru was still feral right now, so the guards didn't let him keep hold of Haru for long. They pulled him away and covered his head with a sack. It was horrifying to watch.

“What are you going to do to him!” Sousuke demanded, as Haru was taken into the building.

“They're taking him to quarantine, but don't worry, he won't be harmed,” said Boney, “It's just until he calms down.”

When Haru regained his sense of self again he'd probably remember what he'd done... Oh god...

Makoto looked down beneath them, where Chiyo was now slumped against the side of the the building, clutching his arm where Haru had bitten him. The other zombies were approaching now that Haru wasn't there to ward them off. As they made it over to Chiyo, a particularly brave young girl zombie who looked... a-about the same age that Ren and Ran had been when they'd been infected... started to bite his arm as well. But Chiyo didn't fend her off. There was no point. Soon enough Chiyo would become a zombie as well and they'd all lose interest in him.

“I'm so sorry...” Makoto whimpered.

Chiyo turned his head to look up at him and smiled. That was the hardest part.

“It's not... your fault...” Chiyo said. His words were slurred. The life behind his eyes was already starting to leave him.

“No, but I didn't trust you!” Makoto blurted out, “I had no reason not to, b-but I was just stupid and jealous! You... you didn't have to do any of this, but you protected Haru and I'm... I'm sorry...”

“...Don't worry... I... I forgive you... Mak- ...Mack...”

But he didn't manage to get Makoto's name out before his head slumped down. And then the rest of his body collapsed to the ground in a heap. The other zombies left him. They were finished now. Chiyo would become one of them, just like his friend before him.

Makoto couldn't watch. He didn't want to see Chiyo get up and become a zombie after the sacrifice he'd made for them. He backed away from the ledge, only to find that Sousuke was still waiting there for him. So he buried his head in Sousuke's chest and cried loudly.

They'd reached their destination now, but Makoto wasn't in a position to feel glad about that.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the days that follow reaching their destination, Makoto and Sousuke have been decidedly kept out of the loop. They haven't seen Hayato or Haru at all since they arrived, but if it's down to them, that's going to change soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is Trail Mix's first anniversary! When I posted it last year, originally as a one-shot to try writing both SouMako and zombie AUs for the first time, I had no idea that one year later I'd be working on the fourth story in the series with a lot more planned to follow. Thank you so much to anyone who's read, comments and/or left kudos on the stories. Whether you've only read the original Trail Mix or follow the series through up to now, it means a lot to me to know there are people who care about this story as much as I do and it's definitely given me the motivation to carry on with it. I can't thank you enough. We're getting closer to the end of Leftovers now, but once that's wrapped up, I hope to dive head first into the next story in the series, Wild Berries. For now though, I hope you enjoy this kind of morbid (but in some ways optimistic?) chapter!

Sousuke paced the room angrily and Makoto could hardly blame him. They were being treated like caged animals in all but name. Sure, they could leave the quarters they'd been granted if they wanted to, but there was no point. Their access to most places beyond the corridor was restricted. The two of them were to be left here as Hayato recreated his cure program.

They hadn't seen Haru or Hayato even once. Honestly, they didn't even know for sure where either of them were, though they assumed that Hayato at least was in a lab somewhere. With Haru, they had no idea. Each time a guard brought them food, they'd argue this point, but their words always fell on deaf ears. Neither of them let that stop them from trying though.

The door slid open on schedule and Sousuke loomed over the guard.

“Take us to Haru,” he demanded.

“I'm just here to give you this...” the guard mumbled, not meeting Sousuke's eyes.

“Take us to Haru,” Sousuke repeated. He ignored the plate that was offered out to him.

“So it is true, you are making a fuss about this...”

The scientist known as Boney joined the guard in the room now, his face showing mild amusement. Now that Makoto had been in Boney's presence for longer than a few hours, he'd come to find him insufferably obnoxious. He could see why Hayato might've once liked him, since the two of them were similar, but he assumed that was also the reason their relationship hadn't worked out. Tokyo was Boney's territory, he had the upper hand over Hayato here and therefore saw no reason to be humble.

But Hayato had the cure. Boney couldn't get away from that.

“Look, I don't think we're being unreasonable,” Makoto tried, “You said we could see Haru once he'd settled down and if you've kept him away from other zombies, then he should have settled by now. Please... he needs us after what happened.”

“He has been in quarantine for some time,” Boney agreed, pretending to think about it, “...Very well. I guess I can grant you some time with him. Though if anything goes wrong, we'll be quick to pull the plug.”

“Thank you...” said Makoto. He did feel thankful, no matter how smarmy Boney was being.

Sousuke didn't say a word, but Makoto couldn't blame him for that. After the way they'd been treated, it was hard to maintain his composure. The two of them were led from the room and through several doors that they wouldn't have had access to without Boney and the guards escorting them. Eventually they came to what was clearly a bay of holding cells. All of them were empty right now. All but one.

“You should appreciate that we cleared out all of our samples for him,” said Boney, as they walked over to Haru's cell, “Honestly, before now I'd deemed Hayato's reformed zombie research to be hogwash, but it was helpful to know that keeping him away from other zombies helps him regain his sense of self. That must be a hard requirement to meet in this world.”

“We manage...” said Makoto.

He didn't want to give Boney any more information than he needed to know about where they lived. Honestly, Makoto wasn't sure he'd even trust these people to fly them back out to the mountains when this was over any more.

But he could worry about that later. Right now Haru was more important.

Haru lay curled up in the corner of his cell. He didn't react when the guards walked through, though he looked up when he heard Makoto's voice. Even though Haru's face was blank, Makoto could tell what was going on inside him. Haru knew what he'd done to Chiyo. It'd taken years for Haru to find peace about what had happened with Rin, but at least in that case the others could assure Haru that he wasn't himself enough to control his actions. He hadn't been himself this time either, but after so many years of having control... It must have been a shock to the system to lose it so suddenly.

“Haru... it's us,” Sousuke whispered, as they looked through the open flap in the top of the door.

“Can we go inside?” Makoto asked.

“For now, I'd rather you didn't,” said Boney, “We need to be certain that we can trust him.”

“You can trust him!” Sousuke snapped.

“He killed a man,” said Boney.

“He wasn't-”

“...I d-did... inf-feect hiiim...” Haru cut in, “...We c-caaan... taa-alk... liiike th-thiss...”

Makoto wanted to insist that Haru couldn't help what he'd done, but he knew that those words wouldn't do Haru any good right now. They were getting to talk to him and that was the important part. So Makoto resigned to talk with Haru like this. He gave a nod to Sousuke. It'd be nice if Boney and his guards would give them some privacy, but Makoto knew that would be too much to ask for as well.

“Hayato's been making progress as far as we've heard,” said Makoto, admittedly they hadn't seen Hayato to know for sure, “That could never have happened if we hadn't gotten him here. The world could never have been cured without us...”

A cure that could mean the death of Haru. And the worst part was, right now Makoto felt that Haru would accept that fate.

But then Haru surprised him.

“...Th-thaaat's good... b-but... youuu h-haave... t-to goo... get Ch-chiyooo...” Haru said.

“Haru, that wouldn't be fair,” said Makoto, “He's a zombie now. It'd only be putting us all through more suffering if we brought him here.”

“...B-but he'ss... liiikee... m-me...” said Haru.

“Like you?” Sousuke pressed.

“...He h-haasss... the th-thinggg... th-thaaat H-haaayato... alwaa-aays s-saaays... I h-havee...” Haru explained.

“Synaesthesia...?” checked Makoto, hardly able to believe it, “But how do you know?”

“...We taaalkeed... a-abouuttt it... at th-thee vaann... b-beforeee we l-left... the mounnn-taain...” said Haru, “...H-hisss c-colouursss... are a-all wroong... l-like a r-rainbooow... too m-maaany d-different onesss... B-buut he haasss it...”

Suddenly, Makoto remembered. He remembered listening in on that conversation. At the time, he'd thought that Chiyo was just showing a general interest in Haru's condition, but from an outsider's perspective, like how Makoto would talk to Haru about synaesthesia. He never for a moment considered that Chiyo might also have it.

“So he could become like you?” said Sousuke.

“...He'll... l-leeeaaavee...” said Haru, “...H-he'll g-gooo too... K-kisssumiii... I k-knooow it...”

Just like how, in the beginning, Haru had no other sense of self than to follow Makoto. If Haru of all people felt that Chiyo had the same connection to Kisumi, then Makoto didn't doubt it. But Kisumi was miles away... How could Chiyo even make it there without being stopped? He'd be a formidable zombie, especially if he had the kind of returning awareness that Haru did, but Makoto doubted he could get that far across Japan without being stopped.

“We have to get after him,” said Makoto. He turned to Boney; “You heard all of that, right?”

Boney shrugged, still looking like he thought of this all as a big joke.

“I did hear it. But without sounding insensitive, I don't see what it has to do with me,” Boney replied, “I'm not the one studying reformed zombies. The only scientist who was has jumped ship, as you well know. That friend of yours was massive, it'd be too much of a risk to my guards to send them after him.”

“There's a person in there!” Sousuke protested, “A living person who'll come to regain their life if given a chance! Just like Haru!”

“You mean... Haruka Nanase who turned feral and bit a man when there were too many zombies for him to handle?” reminded Boney, “Honestly, this all sounds like too much effort. If not for Hayato's insistence, I'd have put Mr. Nanase down myself as soon as he arrived here. Perhaps that's murder, but it's not as if society has an ethics committee that'd argue in his favour.”

“You're sick!” Makoto gasped, “Hayato said it'd be better to entrust the cure to you instead of to the compound, but he was wrong!”

“That's your point of view,” said Boney, “Actually, it's funny you should mention the compound, because their council should be arriving here any time now. Like flies to honey.”

“You called them...” said Makoto, “Hayato trusted you and you called them anyway...”

“No, Hayato trusted that I'd want power over them and he isn't wrong about that,” Boney said, “But where's the fun in one-upping someone if they're not there to witness it?”

“Hayato won't finish the program for you when he finds out!” snapped Sousuke, “He's better than that!”

“Ahh, but the beauty of it is that Hayato doesn't even know you're down here yet,” Boney reminded, “By the time he finds out, it'll be too late. And even if he does act up – as Hayato is prone to doing – I have the guns. Heh. I even have your guns now. You guys seriously should have thought this through a lot better.”

“He's right...” Makoto whispered, putting a hand on Sousuke's arm.

“Fine. We'll listen to you,” growled Sousuke.

“I thought you might see it that way,” Boney said, “And since we're conveniently in the holding bay anyway, I'm sure you won't mind if my guards politely escort you to a cell. Separately, of course.”

They had no choice. Makoto lowered his hand from Sousuke's arm and the two of them stepped away from each other. Boney nodded to his guards and they were both led into empty cells further down from Haru.

The doors were heaved shut. A lock clicked. Each of them was alone, so close to each other and yet powerless to do anything. And Hayato didn't even know he was in danger yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, since I take any chance to geek out about synaesthesia, here's a little extra note about the characters for those interested. Haru's synaesthesia presents itself with letters and numbers that are mostly shades of blue, green or purple, with a few striking exceptions, like the occasional red and pink. Chiyo's synaesthesia has a much wider range of colours, as I just based his on my own synaesthesia colours for the most part. Talking to another person who has synaesthesia about both of your colours is generally annoying, because their colours feel wrong to you. The one letter that Haru and Chiyo both share is that they see k as being pink (which is why they both agreed that Kisumi's name is pink). But they're both wrong, because as far as I'm concerned k is very definitely a purple letter. So there.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their group has been defeated. Makoto, Sousuke and Haru are currently held against their wills in a prison bay. Chiyo has been infected and could be wandering anywhere in Tokyo as a zombie. Only Hayato is free, but that won't last for long. And once he falls, there'll be no one left to help them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of shameless self-promotion, but I wrote a fic for the Makoto Birthday Exchange 2017 called Neon Horror Band-Aid that features an older Hayato with pretty much the same personality as he has in this series, just minus the zombie setting. So if you want to see more of this Hayato and you're cool with KisuMako, then I'd love for you to check it out.

Despite Boney's threat of the approaching council, the three of them stayed in their cells for what felt like a long time. They could hear each other if they talked through the open slots at the top of their cell doors, but there was little point. At first Makoto and Sousuke tried to figure out a plan between themselves, while Haru mostly sat in silence. Yet eventually they reached the conclusion that there was nothing they could do from here. They were either at Boney's mercy or the council's mercy, should the council learn that the escapees they'd been looking for were here. Neither option looked good.

Their one chance, the one person who wasn't accounted for, was Hayato. Though if Makoto was honest, that probably wasn't enough. Should Hayato turn on Boney, he'd most likely be shot. At this point, Makoto wasn't ruling out that Boney might kill him anyway, as a show of good will to the council.

How could they have walked right into this?

They had to give the cure to someone, right? It wasn't fair on the world to let Hayato hide away in the mountains, potentially taking his knowledge with him to the grave. But on the other hand, was it too much to ask for to be able to give the cure to someone who'd use it for the right reasons? Someone who actually wanted to help society, instead of control it.

Were there even people like that left any more?

In Makoto's mind, he felt that he was a decent person. At least, not a bad person, anyway. All of the people he'd travelled with had been doing this for the right reasons. Sure, they might have crossed the compound on the way out the door, but that was because the compound had put Haru's life at risk. Their intentions had been noble. They... didn't deserve to be locked away like this.

As Makoto dwelt on those thoughts, the soft sound of distant voices made their way to his ear. It wasn't Haru or Sousuke, it was someone from outside the prison bay. Two people, by the sounds of it. Makoto got to his feet and pressed his ear to the open slot in his cell door, trying to hear more.

When their footsteps grew closer, Makoto recognised the voices. Boney was back and he had Hayato with him, though both of them sounded at ease.

“I mean, it won't be too much longer now and then you'll be free to go,” Boney said, “Though are you absolutely sure that you want to? There's so much potential between us working together.”

“Eh, maybe there is, but I'm done with all of this,” Hayato dismissed, “My duty to the world is over now that I've given you the cure. All I want is to go home with my family and be left in peace. We'll... figure out how we can help Haru in time...”

Makoto opened his mouth to call out, but Sousuke hissed at him to stay silent. At first Makoto didn't get it, but then he twigged – if Hayato realised they were being held, then he might act irrationally and Boney would kill him. As difficult as it was to do, it was better for Hayato if he didn't know they were there right now. At least until they were sure what Boney was going to do.

“Fiiine! I won't force your hand if you're absolutely set on going,” Boney whined, in response to Hayato's insistence. But then his voice changed, it sounded like a sickly honey that made Makoto feel ill to listen to, “Although... until you go, we have time.”

“Time?” Hayato echoed. He sounded amused.

“Come on, Hayato, don't insult me by making me explain. This could be the last time we see each other and we left so much hanging when I transferred to Tokyo in the first place. It'd be a shame not to... tie up the loose ends,” Boney purred.

“Eh, from where I was standing, I dumped you and that was pretty straightforward,” Hayato teased, “But I mean... I'm not seeing anyone right now. And I probably won't be for a long time. So maybe I could... spare you some time.”

“A little celebration to congratulate you on a job well done with finishing the program,” agreed Boney.

The door into the prison bay slid open. Makoto backed away from the open slot in his cell door.

“Hey, I don't think I've ever been here before,” Hayato said, as him and Boney walked through, “I guess I've mostly been shut away in the lab this whole time. So where are we, exactly?”

“Somewhere that you can get a private room,” Boney answered.

“Private? That sounds nice,” said Hayato. Their footsteps moved past the cell that Makoto was in; “How long for, exactly?”

“Hm... I suppose for as long as I can get away with,” Boney said, “Actually, I'm surprised that I haven't heard from the peanut gallery yet.”

“What do you mean?” Hayato's voice had changed. It no longer sounded intrigued by whatever Boney was offering. He was starting to feel that he'd walked into a trap.

Because he had done.

“Hayato, he's got us here, but do what he says,” Sousuke called out, “We don't want him to shoot you.”

“My, you're all a lot more sensible than I'd given you credit for,” Boney chuckled, “But your gorilla squad is right, Hayato, one wrong move and I'll blast your brains out. Maybe not right here and now, but you wouldn't get far through this building without being caught once I tell everyone to be on the look out for you.”

“So that's what this is? You just wanted the cure and now you're done with us,” Hayato growled, “Guess I shouldn't be surprised.”

“Now, now, I do hope that I have one surprise left for you,” said Boney, “You heard that helicopter landing a while ago? I can't believe that you bought it when I told you it was the other scientists coming back.”

“Where are the other scientists anyway?” Hayato snapped, “I haven't seen anyone other than you and all your guards since we got here.”

“Well, that's because it is only me and my guards,” assured Boney, “There'll be no scientists coming to pat you on the back for doing the right thing for once. But I'm sure that the council of the compound will be glad to see you and three of your escapee friends all the same.”

“You called the council? I thought you wanted this! I thought I could at least count on you to want the cure too much to give it to them!” shot Hayato.

There was a shove. When Makoto got back to looking out of the slot, he could just make out Boney shutting the door of a cell further down, which now contained Hayato. They were all trapped.

“At least that's one thing you're not wrong about,” said Boney, his attention turned fully onto Hayato's cell, “I won't let them take credit for this. They won't steal it away and become known as the compound who saved the entire world. That honour will be mine. But I need them to understand that just as much as you.”

That was when Makoto saw it, another figured appeared in the doorway. It was a man dressed in the uniform of the compound, which was slightly different to the kind that the Tokyo guards wore. He was quite portly, but otherwise looked unremarkable. Yet Makoto was sure that he'd seen him before. He held his breath and hoped that this newcomer was on their side. They were due a miracle...

“You truly are a simple man with simple needs, huh?” Hayato said, suddenly trying to keep Boney talking so that he didn't turn around.

“Not as simple as yours, it would seem,” Boney snorted, “I can't believe you'd think I'd take you back after you left m- ...Arrrggghhhh! F-fuck!”

Boney fell to the floor as the newcomer shot him in the back of the leg. Then Boney was pinned with a gun held to his head and when the other man spoke up, Makoto recognised the voice and realised where he knew him from.

It was the pilot.

“How do you open the door?” hissed the pilot.

“Fuck! Fuck! Jesus! My fucking leg!”

The pilot rammed Boney's head into the floor and the pulled it up again.

“How do you open the door!”

“Please! Please... m-mercy...!” Boney yelped, his swagger gone now that he wasn't holding all the cards, “M-my fingerprints... c-can over... override all the locks!”

That was all the pilot needed to know. He forced Boney's hand up and onto the panel next to Hayato's cell. The door swung open, but Hayato didn't dare embrace the pilot while he still held Boney. If Boney managed to get away, then they were done. All the same, Hayato regarded the pilot as if he couldn't believe he was there, as if this was some kind of bizarre dream. Makoto felt the same way.

“Daichi...” Hayato whispered, making Makoto feel bad for having forgotten the pilot's name entirely until now, “...How are you here?”

“Guess I couldn't quit you as easily as this guy seems able to,” Daichi replied, “I envy him for that.”

“Hey, kid! Can you let us out while you're at it?” Sousuke yelled.

“They're all here?” Daichi asked, as Boney struggled beneath him.

“Not all, but some of us,” Hayato answered, “The others are safely hidden away, I hope. But we have to get out of here now. Please tell me you brought a ride.”

“Assuming the council don't want a lift back to the compound, then yes, I brought a ride,” said Daichi, “Guess that means I'm officially resigned, because there's no way even I can win them back over from this.”

He yanked Boney up off the floor and pushed him in the direction of Sousuke's cell, gun pressed to Boney's back the whole time. After being shot in the leg, Boney could barely walk, but the pilot – sorry, Daichi – moved him along all the same.

“How did you even get them to forgive you after last time?” Hayato asked.

“It's the one advantage of being a drip, no one wants to hold you responsible for anything in case they make you feel bad,” Daichi answered, as he pressed Boney's hand to the panel next to Sousuke's cell door, “But do you think... after all this, I've gone up the ranking a bit in your estimation? I must be a little cool now...”

“Nah, you're still the biggest drip I know. But thank god you are,” said Hayato.

“Hayato! Show him some gratitude. He's saving our lives,” Makoto scolded.

“He's n-not... aggghhh... saving th-them...! He's j-just l-letting you... live a-a bit – _fuck!_ \- longer...!” Boney protested, “...They'll get you!”

“We should probably do something about him,” Sousuke said, with a gesture down to where Boney was barely holding himself up.

“Maybe, but we kind of need his hand,” said Hayato, “He has access to everywhere in this place. If we have him, then we can get to the roof.”

“So we cut off his hand then,” Daichi said, far too indifferently.

Makoto only just managed to stifle a yelp.

“We're not cutting off his hand!” he gasped.

“I mean... the alternate is that we knock him out and drag him around the building, which seems like a lot of effort,” Hayato said, as Boney was now pushed towards Makoto's cell.

“Rather that than cutting his hand off,” whimpered Makoto, “We're better than this, Hayato...”

“Are we though?” Hayato checked.

The door to Makoto's cell slid open and he stepped out, looming over Hayato with a determined frown on his face. Hayato recoiled from him.

“Yes. We are,” Makoto concluded, “Now let Haru out of his cell and we can make a move.”

“...Y-you won't... g-get... far!” Boney shrieked, “...I'll s-scream... ahhhh... a-and shout... until th-they come... f-for me!”

But Boney wasn't going to be doing any screaming or shouting. Because the next thing that Boney knew, Sousuke had hit him sharply on the side of the head and then he was out. Which made this a lot easier. Sousuke picked him up from where he'd slumped to the floor and carried him over to Haru's cell. Then he held Boney's hand to the panel and, just like that, they were all out.

Haru stepped into the light, looking the most broken of all of them. Makoto truly felt for him.

“...W-we h-haave to... g-go outtt... a-annd g-get Ch-chiyooo...” he said.

“Didn't he get infected?” Hayato checked.

“Yes, but Haru believes he'll become a reformed zombie and that he'll be on the way to find Kisumi,” said Makoto. And he hated himself for the next part, but it had to be said; “Which is why we can't go after him. I'm sorry, Haru, but he could be anywhere out there by now. There are hundreds of zombies and soon every guard in the city will be hunting us. You won't be able to control yourself out there and none of us can help Chiyo if we're dead. We have to go to the roof.”

For a moment, Makoto was convinced that Haru was going to argue with him. But he said nothing. He merely nodded in defeat and then moved towards the door.

“You two know your way through this place?” Sousuke asked Hayato and Daichi.

“Between the two of us we should be able to figure it out,” said Hayato.

“Good. Let's just hope you can figure it out before we get caught,” said Sousuke.

With Boney held in Sousuke's arms, they left the prison bay. Suddenly fleeing for their lives had became the best option they'd had all day.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The escapees are making their way up to the roof, where a compound helicopter is waiting. But they don't encounter anyone who blocks their path on the way there and none of them trust that...

Navigating their group of six through the building without being caught was no easy task. Especially when one of their number was the unconscious Boney, held in Sousuke's arms, with his hand occasionally used to open locked doors. If anyone caught them with him, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves. Boney ruled the roost here. The guards answered to him and for the sake of their pay checks, they would probably defend him.

Then there was the council. Daichi said they were waiting in one of the lounges, so they gave that area a wide berth. Because even without Boney, all of them were wanted by the council. Hayato was the only one that the council had any interest in keeping alive and now that they'd potentially gotten the cure from him, they couldn't even guarantee that any more.

“So what's the full story with the council?” Sousuke asked Daichi, as they all made their way down a fortunately empty corridor. It'd be useful to have as much information as they could.

“The Tokyo department contacted them today, saying that they'd found a cure that'd render the search for Hayato irrelevant,” Daichi answered, “Though I guess the Tokyo department seems to be just this guy now, huh? I dread to think what he did to the rest of the scientists.”

“Best not to,” agreed Makoto, who didn't have enough sympathy left in him to spare for anyone outside of their group, as much as he felt bad about that.

“Well, you know the council usually take months to decide anything, but this was different. They're so desperate to have something that'll win them the people's favour after the whole mess with Haru escaping,” said Daichi.

Sousuke grunted with satisfaction; “Glad to hear that we caused them some headaches.”

“More than some. But anyway, as soon as they heard about the cure, they all wanted to fly out to Tokyo. I was the only pilot on shift that day, so you guys got lucky again,” Daichi said, “Once we got here, Boney showed them to the lounge and said that he'd bring them what they wanted soon enough. I stayed on the roof to check the helicopter over, but... guards talk. I heard mention of Hayato's name and I couldn't stop myself from sneaking inside to find out if it was true.”

“That brings us up to date then,” said Sousuke, “As long as the council stays where Boney put them, Boney doesn't wake up and we don't come across any guards, then we should get out of here no problem.”

As if to spite him, there was suddenly a heavy thud from behind them. They turned around to see that Haru had fallen to the floor and was panting heavily, the noise coming out in wheezy gasps. Makoto took a step forward.

“H-haru...? What's wrong?” Makoto asked.

Haru shook his head and tried to look up, but he only managed to meet Makoto's eyes for a moment before he had to lower his head again. The panting grew louder as Haru struggled to get words out.

“...D-don't... k-knooowww...” Haru rasped, “...N-neeeveerrrr... f-f-feelttt... th-thissss...”

“...They've done it,” Hayato said, joining Makoto, “I don't know who's done it without Boney being there, but they've activated the program I made. The noise frequency should be affecting every zombie in the Shinjuku area and it seems that Haru's no exception to that... If we don't get him out of here soon then... he'll shut down.”

Makoto crouched down in front of Haru.

“Haru... I'm going to carry you, okay?” he said.

At this point, Haru was wheezing too badly to make a verbal response, but he nodded his head as best he could. When Makoto went to pick him up, Haru weakly wrapped his arms around him and didn't protest. Right now, he looked smaller than Makoto had ever seen him...

“Let's get a move on,” said Sousuke, “The sooner we're out of here the better.”

“The stairs leading up to the roof are close,” Daichi assured, “There'll probably be guards there.”

Now that Makoto and Sousuke both had their hands full, the prospect of facing guards was even less pleasant. Not to mention that Daichi was the only one of them who was armed. Makoto shared a look with Sousuke and it was clear that they were both thinking the same thing.

“As soon as we've got through the last door, we don't need this guy any more, so I can dump him,” Sousuke said, with a nod down at Boney.

“Maybe not,” Hayato countered, “If we hold him hostage, then it might stop them from shooting. The guards are concerned about him and we do have a weapon, so they can't write us off as not being a risk.”

“But we won't... actually shoot him,” Makoto said, “Not if we can help it. We just need to get to the helicopter and then we can leave him for them to deal with.”

“We'll do what we can,” dismissed Daichi.

Once again, Makoto was left with a sudden uncertainty about bringing a stranger into their group. Perhaps this time his concerns were more founded than they had been with Chiyo as well. All Makoto knew about Daichi was that he was apparently a passive person usually, but he would do seemingly anything to protect Hayato. He'd already shot Boney in the leg. But then again, they wouldn't have any hope of escaping without him, so there was nothing that could be done for now. Makoto just had to hope that none of the guards gave Daichi a reason to shoot.

They reached the bottom of the stairwell that Daichi said would take them to the roof. They'd been indoors in a building without windows for so long that Makoto had become too disorientated to have any concept of what floor they were on, but he took Daichi's word that this was the highest one.

“We should have come across guards by now,” Hayato said, “There should be some keeping watch over the stairs, don't you think?”

“There was on the way in,” Daichi confirmed, “I only got past them because I said I had to take an urgent message to the council.”

“Maybe they're swapping shifts?” said Makoto.

“...Or maybe someone called them off,” Hayato grimly suggested.

“No point wasting time talking about it. We'll know once we get up there,” Sousuke insisted.

Makoto saw Sousuke give Haru a nervous glance, before turning to head up the stairs. Haru wasn't holding up well at all. Although Makoto couldn't hear the frequency that was causing Haru to hurt so badly, the closer they got to the roof, the more Haru's panting changed into cries of pain. They were bringing him closer to what was harming him. But only for a short while. Then they'd be gone...

They made their way up and out onto the roof. It was night and the rain was pouring down hard, but other than Haru's cries, that was the only sound. The silence was eerie.

“Still no guards...” Hayato whispered.

Yet despite the lack of guards, they weren't the only people on the roof. A lone woman stood at the edge of the building, looking over the side. Upon hearing them come up from the stairwell, she turned to face them. Makoto didn't recognise her, but it was clear that Hayato and Daichi did. Hayato swore loudly.

“She's the head of the council,” Hayato hissed, “The one who talked with Haru during his trial.”

Back when the council was still trying to decide if they regarded Haru as a human or not. That seemed like forever ago now. Makoto could barely picture Haru stood before a grand council in their chamber. Right now all Makoto could see was this one woman. The only person stopping them from getting to the helicopter.

Daichi held up his gun.

“Don't...!” Makoto pleaded, “She hasn't done anything...”

“So we wait for her to do something?” argued Hayato, “The council already condemned us all to death. What more can she do?”

Makoto ignored him. He broke away from their group and walked towards her, Haru still crying in his arms. The woman looked extraordinarily calm as he approached, despite her situation. She watched Haru the whole while.

“You talked with him...” Makoto said, “You know that he's a person, even if you won't grant him permission to be one. And now he's dying because of you...”

The woman nodded. Then she turned and gestured towards the edge of the building. Makoto stepped forward and looked down below, to where the hordes of Shinjuku zombies were now lying in the streets. None of them were dead as such, but they'd shut down enough that a dedicated team could easily come through and clear them out. This would be what would change the world.

From how high up they were, it was hard to tell, but Makoto told himself that he couldn't see Chiyo down there amongst them. Given how large Chiyo was, he'd stand out. Perhaps he'd gotten away from Shinjuku before the frequency had hit and was hopefully making his way out of Tokyo.

“This will change the world,” the head of the council explained, “There are so many compounds. All of them filled with people asking the same question – can we ever go back? Now we can tell them that they can. You can't expect us to stop that for a single person.”

“I know you can't. That's why we brought the cure here in the first place. We want to help,” Makoto promised, “But we also want to save ourselves. He's my family. They're all my family. What would you do in my place?”

“Exactly the same as what you're doing,” she confirmed, “I admire you for going this far.”

“Then please... let us leave,” said Makoto, “We don't want to get in your way. We don't want anything to do with the compound after this. We just want to be able to live...”

“And yet, if we come across Mr. Nanase, we would have to kill him on sight. There can be no argument there. The program will be developed, until we reach a point where we can broadcast it across all of Japan. You are only prolonging the inevitable by trying to keep him alive,” said the head of the council.

Makoto nodded; “...But isn't that just life?”

She regarded him for a long time. And although she couldn't shake his hand while he held Haru, it seemed like she wanted to. With a decision made, she nodded.

“I am the head of this council. I speak for Japan in a time when no one else will do so. My name is Christine Whittle, not Japanese by birth. If you cross me, I will stop you without hesitation. But right now, you are merely trying to leave, so I shall let you go,” she said, “Although I would appreciate it if you left Hewitt behind. He might be a treacherous creature, but he's still my son.”

“Hewitt?” Makoto echoed. But then he remembered that Boney had introduced himself to them as Dr. Whittle when they'd arrived. She had to be referring to him. Makoto nodded, but then he said, “I think we should warn you that he was... um, planning on double-crossing the council.”

“Yes, I'm aware of that,” Christine said, “I gave him Tokyo as a playground to distract him, but he's always been... ambitious. When it's your own, you struggle to stop them.”

“I don't know. When Hayato goes too far, I always tell him off,” Makoto replied.

“But Hayato Shigino is not your son,” said Christine.

“No... he's not,” Makoto agreed. And that was the end of that; “We, uh, also had to shoot Bon- ... _Hewitt_ in the leg to escape from where he'd held us, so he'll need medical attention.”

“It will be seen to. Now, if you can just set him down, I won't obstruct your escape,” said Christine.

Behind them, Makoto heard Sousuke lower Boney to the floor, probably not as graciously as he could've done.

“Won't you and the council be stranded here if we take the helicopter?” Makoto asked.

“If you believe that the council cannot call for another helicopter, then you are sorely mistaken, Mr. Tachibana,” Christine said, “The council will understand. There are five of you and only one of me. I am unarmed and without guards. There's no way I could've stopped you.”

“Why are you here without guards...?” Makoto asked, because he couldn't help himself from being curious.

Christine turned away from him and resumed watching the zombies down below. A floor coated with unmoving bodies that would somehow pave the way to the future. In that moment, Makoto just knew that she'd been the one who'd activated the program.

“...Because I wanted to be the first to see it,” Christine answered.

“I... I understand,” said Makoto, although he wasn't sure that he did. He backed away, but she didn't turn to look at him; “We have to leave now... for Haru's sake. I... well, I wish you the best of luck.”

“And I wish you the same. You're going to need it,” said Christine, with an air of finality.

This was it. They were going to leave this wretched place and go home. They'd survived. They'd made it. Perhaps not all of them... but there was at least still hope where Chiyo was concerned, so Makoto wasn't going to write him off as lost just yet.

He turned back to the others, who were looking at him as if he'd just performed some miraculous act. Boney was lying on the floor by Sousuke's feet, still unconscious. If they never had to see him again, it'd be too soon. If they never had to see any of this again, it'd be too soon.

There was scarcely a reason for words to pass between them. Daichi led the way to the helicopter and climbed inside, all of them following, one by one, with Makoto carrying Haru. As was his way, Sousuke waited until last, making sure all of them got inside before he followed and pulled the door shut. It slide across with a dull clunk. The sound of the rain was quieter now. Makoto set Haru down on the bench and sat beside him, barely daring to breathe too loudly as Daichi started up the engine. Hayato joined Daichi at the front, leaving Sousuke with Makoto and Haru.

Soon enough, the helicopter was rising up into the air. They'd made it out. Below them, Christine continued to look over the edge into the future, as if the noise of them leaving was inconsequential to her. Perhaps that was because it was. The future would come. All Makoto and the others could do was try to stay out of its way.

The higher they flew, the more Haru began to settle. He would become himself again soon, Makoto hoped. Although he had no idea how they'd help Haru once the cure was utilised on a wider scale. Hopefully they had time to figure something out before that happened...

He looked at Sousuke, who'd stayed with him like a dependable rock the whole time.

“We've made it,” he said, hoping that speaking the words out loud would make them feel more true than they did right now.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” said Sousuke, “You were the one who reasoned with her.”

“I... didn't do much,” Makoto argued, “I just hoped she was a decent person and it turned out that she was.”

“But you were the only one of us who tried,” said Sousuke, “The other two wanted to shoot her and I... well, I'd have wanted to avoid it, but if she hurt us first, then I wouldn't hold back and you know it. You were the only one of us who could've done that.”

“Hah... well, I still say you're giving me too much credit, but I'll take it,” Makoto said, resting his head on Sousuke's shoulder. Next to them, Haru had become quiet. Makoto knew that it'd be a while before he was up to talking, so he didn't push him. Instead he said to all of them in general, “How long do you think we have before the next danger comes along?”

“We'll be back at the cottage in a few hours,” Hayato called back, as if that answered the question. Maybe it would.

It couldn't have been more than a week since they'd left the mountains, but it felt like much longer. They certainly had a lot to tell the others once they'd returned and they had no way of knowing if the others had managed to stay safe in their absence. But they had Gou with them and Makoto fully believed that she would protect them.

As he thought of his friends and how he'd soon be reunited with them, Makoto closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep by Sousuke's side.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their group finally arrives back home at the cottage, minus one of the people they left with, but instead having gained someone else. It would be nice to think that they could all settle now, but there are still too many loose threads that need to be addressed. And before long, some of their number is parting ways with them once again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Leftovers! Though it leads directly onto the next story in the series, Wild Berries. More on that in the end notes.

As the helicopter took them across Japan at a much faster pace than the van had managed, Makoto found that he couldn't focus. The whole country was below them, including places where they'd been and maybe even people they'd encountered, but right now it was all too much for Makoto. It still felt like a dream that they'd made it out. And he wasn't even sure if he could feel good about it. They were alive, that was what was important, but they still had no idea how they could help Haru or even Chiyo, if he was still alive. Their victory felt hollow...

What distracted Makoto from his daze was the pilot – sorry, Daichi – turning on... some music? The soothing sound of soft piano playing echoed throughout the helicopter. It felt ill-fitting to their situation, but that wasn't what caught Makoto's attention the most. Instead, what he realised was that it had been so many years since he'd heard music at all. Perhaps not even since before the outbreak. To hear it now after so long made what they'd lost to the outbreak hit home harder than ever.

“What's going to happen from here on out?” Makoto asked to the helicopter in general, “What do we... do next?”

There was a lengthy silence that told Makoto none of them had the same answer to that question as each other, but they weren't sure how to break that to Makoto. It was Hayato who spoke up in the end.

“I won't be able to stay,” he said, “And not just because the compound might still come after me. I need to seek out a way to help Haru resist the cure and I can't do that in the cottage. I'm not even sure where I can do that, but I just know that Daichi and I will need to move on for a while if we want to help.”

“Assuming that we have enough fuel to get far,” Daichi added, “This trip alone will take a lot out of the helicopter.”

Part of Makoto wondered if Haru would speak up to object to the two of them going to such lengths on his behalf. But he didn't. Haru hadn't said a word since they'd left Tokyo. It might've been worrying, but Makoto figured that his silence was more down to emotional exhaustion than anything else. Surprisingly, it was Sousuke who spoke up.

“Look... Hayato, I know that I've been hard on you, but you've... well, you've done a lot,” said Sousuke, “If you don't feel you can't push yourself any further, then none of us are going to blame you. I couldn't do half the shit you've done when I was your age.”

“Sousuke, when you were my age, you were already fighting zombies in the wilderness. Time passes faster than you think,” Hayato replied.

Makoto had to stifle laughter at the affronted look on Sousuke's face.

“And here I was just starting to like you, kid...” Sousuke grumbled.

“But anyway, I appreciate you saying that I don't have to,” said Hayato, “I want to though. Perhaps I'm the only person who has any chance of saving Haru. Honestly, I don't even know for sure if I'll be able to, but if I don't even try, then I won't be able to live with myself.”

“That's very noble of you,” Makoto assured. Then he looked down at Haru, who was still staring distantly at the floor. Makoto hated to push him, but Haru couldn't stay the way he was now; “...Haru? What are your plans for when we get back?”

Haru looked up at him. And he really did look at Makoto. A stare like that meant that Makoto already had his answer, but he understood why saying it in front of Hayato might not be for the best right now. Hayato had enough on his plate without additional worries about Kisumi's whereabouts adding to that.

“...W-we'll... see whennn... we g-get baaack...” Haru managed.

That was enough for now.

Sousuke looked back to Hayato and asked, “Do you want any of us to come with you when you go?”

“Other than Daichi, not really,” Hayato answered, “Sorry to be blunt, but I doubt any of you would be able to help much and I'd rather know you're not putting yourselves at unnecessary risks. Of course it'd be useful for Haru to go, but at the same time... if we're going somewhere that there'll be a lot of zombies, I'd rather not subject him to that.”

“Just make sure you take care of yourselves as well,” Makoto said.

“I'll make sure for both of us,” promised Daichi, “Looking after Hayato is becoming my speciality.”

In response to that, Hayato lightly shoved Daichi's shoulder. Seeing them together, suddenly Makoto wasn't so worried about what would become of Hayato, even if he left them for a while. Hayato's actions might be questionable a lot of the time, but his heart was in the right place and if anyone could help Haru now, it was Hayato. At least as far as fighting off the cure was concerned.

In regards to everything else, Haru would have to help himself...

The one person who didn't share his plans for the future was Sousuke, but Makoto had a feeling that him and Sousuke were on the same page. After all, they'd been through so much and they deserved to rest. If Sousuke could stay safe in that cottage with his family for a while, then that would be everything he could ask for. And everything that Makoto could ask for as well. Although he did wish there was an easier way to keep them all together in one place. Even if the cottage was small, they could manage...

In a few hours the mountains – their mountains – came into sight. And with that, came the cottage soon after. The clear space where they'd felled the trees around the cottage had never looked so welcoming. Both Sousuke and Makoto got up to have a look out the front as they approached. Below them, they could see Kisumi and Gou come racing out of the cottage to the sound of the approaching helicopter, with Noriko hobbling along behind them at a slower pace.

They were home.

As soon as the helicopter had landed and the doors were opened, Kisumi all but dived onto them. He unapologetically kissed Hayato on the forehead, before heading inside to where Haru was still sat quietly on the bench.

“You're okay! You're all okay!” Kisumi gasped, as he hugged Haru tightly. That seemed to snap Haru out of his trance a little. But then Kisumi looked around and asked nervously, “...Where's Chiyo though? Did he...?”

“...Chiyooo miiight... be okaaay...” Haru answered, “...C-can we taaalk... m-more abouttt him... l-laterrr...?”

The pointed nature of Haru's request was not lost on Kisumi. He nodded, giving Haru an extra squeeze before he let go again.

“That's fine. Whenever you're ready,” Kisumi assured.

“You guys certainly know how to come back in style,” Gou complimented from out the front. Then she looked at Daichi and asked, “So are you a defect or a hostage?”

“A defect,” assured Daichi, “This lot would have no chance of successfully holding a hostage from what I've seen.”

“Eh, he's not wrong,” said Sousuke with a shrug. Then he climbed out of the helicopter and over to Noriko, who had only just managed to make her way over.

“You came back safely,” said Noriko.

“Just like you asked,” Sousuke replied.

They hugged each other gently and stayed together like that for a long while. Makoto knew that they needed a moment. Gou must've known as well, because she distracted all of the others from it.

“Well, come on then. You don't just drop in with a helicopter and an ex-compound guy and not have a story to tell,” she said, “Let us know the details.”

Makoto wondered if Gou was worried about the lack of Chiyo as well, given that the two of them had been friends for a long time. But one look at Haru saw to it that the topic wasn't brought up. They'd have to mention him soon, especially if they were going to recount their entire journey, but for now, Makoto wanted to avoid it a little longer.

“Hey, I'm all for catching everyone up, but I want to start gathering supplies while we do,” Hayato called across.

“Why? Are we... leaving again?” Kisumi asked.

The two Shigino brothers regarded each other and they both looked nervous of what was about to be said. When Hayato shook his head, it was with a heavier heart than when he'd told the others about his plans before they'd arrived.

“You're not leaving. I don't want to put you in any more danger. But I have to go...” said Hayato, “You'll find out why when the others explain what happened.”

“I see...” Kisumi replied. He didn't cry, though Makoto could tell that he wanted to, but he did hug Hayato tightly; “...If that's what you have to do, then I'll trust you and won't stand in your way. But please... just come back to me. You have to promise that much.”

“Daichi will make sure that I do,” dismissed Hayato.

“No, Hayato, I want _you_ to make sure that you do. I want you to take care of yourself and not be reckless,” Kisumi insisted, “You've always had other people there to look out for you, but you can't fall back on that forever. Promise me that you'll look after yourself.”

“Geez, Kisumi...” Hayato sighed, “Okay, I promise that I'll try harder. If only to take some of the weight off Daichi's shoulders.”

“Thank you. That's all I want,” said Kisumi, as he let go, “I'll... I'll help you pack while the others talk.”

As they all headed inside the cottage, it fell onto Makoto to tell their tale. He knew that it wouldn't be easy, but few things in their lives had been and he was grateful that he was even here to recount this at all. With most of their eyes on him, Makoto took a deep breath and began...

***

It was now two days since they'd arrived back at the cottage. The helicopter was already long gone, having taken Hayato and Daichi with it. None of them knew where they'd gone, when they'd be back or even if they'd find a solution to help Haru. But they trusted Hayato and that was what mattered.

Perhaps for the best, Hayato had left before Haru and Kisumi's own intentions had come to light. No doubt Hayato would have taken issue with Kisumi potentially throwing himself into danger again. Honestly, Makoto took issue with it as well, but he knew that there'd be no talking them out of it now.

Kisumi and Haru stood in front of the porch, their packs loaded and ready to go. It was almost funny to see Haru wearing a backpack as a zombie, but the current mood was anything but.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Makoto asked. Not for the first time.

He was given a warm smile from Kisumi, which reassured him slightly.

“We're sure,” said Kisumi, “If there's any chance that Chiyo is alive and he's out there searching for me, then I want to find him. Besides, you know how long it took Haru to recover after he'd been infected. If Chiyo's going to be the same way, then it'd be best if we keep him away from everyone for a while.”

“If you two aren't back in a month, then I'm coming looking,” warned Sousuke.

“...Y-yoouuu knooow... th-thiiisss will t-taaake... longeeerrr thaan... a monthhh...” Haru argued.

“Fine, six months then,” said Sousuke, “But it'll feel like the longest six months, not knowing where you both are.”

“We'll come home,” Kisumi promised, “There's nothing I want more than to be here with everyone. But Chiyo's part of that as well.”

“I know that you'll bring him back,” said Gou.

Part of Makoto was surprised that Gou hadn't wanted to go with them, but for the moment she seemed content to stay at the cottage with Makoto, Sousuke and Noriko. Makoto wondered if Noriko might have been the reason for that. She was becoming more and more frail. The difference even between when they'd left for Tokyo and now was obvious. If... if something happened to Noriko, then Makoto assumed that Gou wanted to be around. After all, Gou had known the Yamazaki family ever since she was young.

“Well.. I guess this is it then,” said Kisumi, adjusting one of the straps on his backpack, “We'll see you when we see you.”

“...Tryyy n-not to d-dieee... whiiile we'ree g-goneee... Y-yamazaaakiii...” teased Haru.

“Only if you try not to as well,” snorted Sousuke.

“Seriously, look after each other,” Makoto said, “You'll be in our thoughts.”

“...A-aaand... you'll b-beee... in ooouurs...” said Haru.

Haru wasn't good at long goodbyes. So he turned and lurched off into the forest ahead of Kisumi, back in the direction of Tokyo. It took Kisumi a moment longer to follow. Makoto could tell that Kisumi was mentally taking a picture of them all, so he could keep in mind the people he was coming back for.

“I'll miss you all,” said Kisumi.

“Of course you will. But don't let missing us stop you from doing what's right,” said Noriko.

“Don't worry, I won't. Thank you, Noriko... for everything. You've always taken such care of both Hayato and myself while we were at the compound. I dare say you were more like a mama than our own mama was,” Kisumi said.

“You stop that now, before I cry,” warned Noriko.

“Y-yes ma'am!” chuckled Kisumi, “G-goodbye then, everyone...”

“Goodbye, Kisumi...” said Makoto.

With more than a few backwards glances, Kisumi then followed Haru. It was the first time in a long while that Kisumi had been out into the dangerous world with only one person by his side, but Makoto had faith that the two of them could look after each other. He believed in Kisumi and Haru.

Once they were both out of sight, Gou helped Noriko back into the cottage. But Sousuke stayed stood on the porch, staring after their friends for a while longer. Makoto stood by his side, slipping his hand into Sousuke's.

“What comes next?” Makoto asked, “For us, I mean.”

“We wait and we worry,” said Sousuke, “But most of all we rest and I feel that we both deserve that, don't you?”

“We're not as young as we used to be,” Makoto teased.

“I wouldn't admit it in front of Hayato, but no, we're not,” agreed Sousuke. He turned to look at Makoto, “You know, I doubt this will be the end. Life's taught me that nothing is ever the same for long. But as long as we all get to be here together for a while, that'll be enough for me. I'll take whatever's thrown at us after that.”

Makoto leaned across and kissed Sousuke gently on the nose.

“...Couldn't have put it better myself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's another chapter in zombie adventures with SouMako and friends drawn to a close. But clearly this is not the end and soon I'll be starting the next story in this series – Wild Berries.
> 
> As is probably clear from the setup here, Wild Berries will be focused on Kisumi and Haru's journey while they search for Chiyo. It will be told from Kisumi's POV, being the first title in this series to do so. I'm very much looking forward to exploring Kisumi's character more, as well as Kisumi and Haru's relationship with each other. Those two haven't had a lot of time to focus on their relationship since they got together, given that life's not given them a break. But don't worry, they'll be getting plenty of time together in the next story.
> 
> As for Sousuke, Makoto and all of the others, we'll of course be coming back to them later. But for now, I think that Kisumi and Haru deserve a chance to shine. Besides, I know you all love a bit of zombie Haru and you'll be getting plenty of him for a while.
> 
> Once again, I can't thank you enough for sticking with this project for so long. It's a journey that I never expected to go on, but seeing so many people enjoy it has given me all the motivation to keep going. I have a lot more stories for this AU that I hope to tell and I appreciate the support in that. Thank you so much.


End file.
